16-27 May 2022
Between May 16, 2022 and May 27, 2022, the first sampling campaign on the Mura River took place as part of the MURmap project. Water and sediment samples were collected near the source of the Mura River in the Hohe Tauern Mountains in Austria up to the Slovenian-Croatian border at 40 points. The sampling was carried out in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Slovenia (GeoZS) and the Montanuniversität of Leoben (MUL). In the first week of the sampling campaign, water and sediment samples were collected at 21 locations between Schmalzgraben and Mixnitz, while the remaining samples were collected in the second week of the sampling campaign.

The river has mountainous characteristics in the upper part, and the stream is not regulated in this part, which did not cause any problem in sampling stream sediments. On the other hand, the places after Leoben up to the Austrian-Slovenian border were partly difficult to access, which led to problems in sampling stream sediments. Possible problems in the sampling of stream sediments were represented not only by flow regulation but also by dams and hydroelectric power plants, which are often located on the river. During sampling on the Slovenian side, where the river has become a lowland river with several meanders, access was difficult in certain places because of marshes. In this part of the river, sampling problems, especially for suspended sediments, were additionally associated with thunderstorms that crossed the river and brought a large amount of particles to the river surface. Despite all the difficulties, the sampling campaign was successful!