Geography and climate of the city of Salzburg
This article deals with the geography and climate of the city of Salzburg .
location
The Salzburg basin , framed by the hilly, low and high mountain ranges, was created by the late and post-glacial alluvial fans of the Salzach and Saalach . Previously it had been cleared several times by ice age glaciers.
The inner city mountains are on the left bank of the Salzach, the Festungsberg , the Mönchsberg and the Rainberg . On the right bank lies the Kapuzinerberg including the small Bürglstein in front of it.
The Morzger Hügel and Hellbrunner Berg in the south of the city and the small Grafenhügel west of Alt Liefering are also located in the Salzburg basin. They are partly towering parts of the rocky basin bedrock or erosion remains of the once closed conglomerate cover, which was created in the last interglacial period by debris from the Salzach and Saalach.
Salzburg forms the middle of three associations or areas
- the regional association of Salzburg city and surrounding communities .
- In addition to the municipality in the south and west, this association includes the municipalities of Elsbethen , Anif , Grödig , Großgmain , Wals-Siezenheim and, in the north, the municipalities of Bergheim , Hallwang , Eugendorf , Elixhausen and Anthering . The communities of Koppl and Plainfeld have so far refused to join the regional association.
- the interlinked area of the Salzburg central area in accordance with the 2003 state development program .
- In addition to the city of Salzburg, this planning area includes all the municipalities of Flachgau, all municipalities of Tennengau except Abtenau, Rußbach and Abtenau, the Upper Bavarian municipalities of Tittmoning , Fridolfing , Kirchanschöring , Petting , Laufen , Saaldorf-Surheim , Teisendorf , Freilassing , Ainring , Anger , Piding , Bad Reichenhall and Bayerisch Gmain , as well as the Upper Austrian communities south of the northern border of Ostermiething, Tarsdorf , Geretsberg , Gilgenberg , Handenberg , St. Georgen am Fillmannsbach , Pischelsdorf , Schalchen , Maria Schmolln , Sankt Johann am Wimberg and Pöndorf , as well as the Salzkammergut communities Weißenkirchen , Oberhofen , Zell am Moos , Tiefgraben , Innerschwand and Mondsee .
- the Euregio Salzburg - Berchstesgadener Land - Traunstein ("Europaregion Salzburg")
- The municipal association EuRegio Salzburg - Berchtesgadener Land - Traunstein includes the city of Salzburg, all municipalities in Flachgau , all municipalities in Tennengau except Abtenau , Rußbach and Annaberg , the Pongau municipalities of Werfen , Pfarrwerfen and Werfenweng , Mühlbach am Hochkönig and Bischofshofen , the Pinzgau municipalities of Unken , Lofer , St. Martin , Weißbach , Leogang , Saalfelden and Maria Alm , as well as all communities in the Upper Bavarian districts of Berchtesgadener Land and Traustein .
Large meadow spaces
The largest green wedge in the city is the Leopoldskroner Moos landscape, which is largely characterized by meadows, on both sides of Moosstrasse. It is connected to the park landscape around the Leopoldskroner Weiher and the St. Peter Weiher through smaller green areas.
The green space in the Maxglan area , located in the vicinity of Salzburg Airport , is now strongly interlinked with the surrounding settlement area. In the northwest, the meadow area and the park-like recreational area around the salt axes are an important green wedge that extends into the city as far as the Glanspitz. The green space of the Langmoos extends from the northeast with the small remnants of the Samer Mösl moor to the Alterbach in the Itzling district . The foot of the Plainberg is one of the city's green spaces, which are characterized by meadows .
Big forests
In the basin there are larger forest islands away from the Inselbergs along the Salzach and Saalach. In the south of the city such fossil Salzach floodplains can be found between Salzach and the meadow area of Hellbrunner Allee and on the right bank in the small Aigner Au.
In the north of the city there is also a fossil alluvial forest extending from Saalach and Salzach to the Glanspitz into the city, which here naturally connects to the cross-border EU protected area "Untere Salzach".
The closed forest complex of the Morzger Wald (historical name: Grödiger Eichet) is the largest closed forest area away from the Gaisberg, which extends into the area of the municipality of Anif.
Today, the Kapuzinerberg is almost entirely wooded, the Mönchsberg and Rainberg for the most part. By far the largest forest area in the area of the city of Salzburg can be found on the Gaisberg and the adjacent low mountain range mountains.
Geological classification
Inselbergs
Like the Kapuzinerberg, the fortress mountain is largely made of main dolomite. The south side of the Mönchsberg and the highest area of the Kapuzinerberg are overlaid by Trias limes, on which there are still Cretaceous Gosaumergel on a small scale. These Inselbergs represent a geological connection between the Hohenstaufen and the Gaisberg and are protruding parts of the Quaternary Basin of a bar that was carved over by Ice Age glaciers and was preserved between the Gosaumergeln in the south and the Flysch rocks in the north.
Lower and smaller is the Morzger hill built from Gosaumergeln. Mönchsberg, Rainberg and Hellbrunner Berg are remnants of the river delta that was poured into the Salzach-Beckensee by the Salzach in the Mindel-Riss interglacial period. Protected by harder rocks in front of them, they escaped erosion by the Ice Age glaciers. The conglomerate of these mountains is separated by narrow sandy layers and is known in many places under the term “Salzburger Nagelfluh”.
Hill country
In the northeast, the city in the area between Bergheim and Mayrwies has a share of the Flysch mountains of the Alpine foothills. The peaks of Plainberg Berg-Sam and Heuberg border the Salzburg basin here. Most of these landscape-defining hills are located outside the urban area, only the southwestern foothills, including the feet of the slopes, extend into the urban area.
Low mountain range
The Gaisberg with the Kühberg in front forms the eastern boundary of the Salzburg basin as part of the Osterhorn group. The Alterbach valley cut geologically separates the low mountain range from the hill country. The northern slopes of the Gaisberg and the Kühberg are made up of dolomite, the Kühberg-Südhang and the upper Gaisberg slopes in the west and southwest are formed by slab limestone. Most of the Gaisberg is made up of layers from the Gosau period. The moraine material in the area of the Zistelgut proves the thickness of the Ice Age glaciers.
Dry terraces
The so-called cemetery terrace is the largest dry terrace level in the city of Salzburg. The eastern slope edge of the cemetery terrace to the lower Salzach level is clearly recognizable throughout the city. This edge of the terrace leads from the southernmost part of the city in the Hellbrunn Palace Park along the Hellbrunnerberg and leads inwards along the Morzgerstraße that runs along the upper edge of the edge to Morzg, where the cemetery terrace protrudes in the shape of a peninsula to Emsburg on Hellbrunner Allee. Furthermore, the slope edge runs east of Gneiser Straße and the eponymous municipal cemetery and subsequently forms the western border of the Nonntal valley to Mönchsberg. To the north of the mountain, the cemetery terrace edge runs around the elevated historical core of Mülln and then temporarily follows the western railway line to the Glan less clearly. To the north of the Glan, the edge of the terrace runs north around the Christian Doppler Clinic and further east along Lieferinger Hauptstrasse to Alt Liefering. To the north of the town center, it forms a distinctive border on the eastern edge of the settlement area, and continues to the north of the trout trail settlement to the alluvial terrace of the Saalach.
The “Untere” or “Hammerau Terrace” is a little lower than the cemetery terrace, but is only developed on a small scale in the city. It is also partially overlaid east of the Salzach by the alluvial cones of Gersbach, Glasbach and Klausbach.
The historic cores of the right bank suburbs Glas, Parsch and Gnigl are also located on the alluvial fans at the foot of the Gaisberg.
Salzach lowlands
The comparatively youngest part of the city compared to the dry terraces is the alluvial plain with the current river near the Salt Lake. In the past, these deepest Salzach valley floors were characterized by oxbow lakes and tributaries of richly structured floodplain areas, which became flood-free through regulation and which fell dry through the gradual lowering of the groundwater level. The local pseudogleye and auboils of the Salzachalluvium are good arable soils today.
Moors
Between the low-lying alluvions of the Salzach and Saalach there are humid peatlands embedded in the dry terraces. The largest such moist area is the Leopoldskroner Moos, the second large area is the Itzlinger Moos (Schallmoos and Langmoos). Originally, about 50 cm of transitional bog was stored in large areas over an approximately one meter thick layer of bog and up to 8 meters of raised bog peat above it. Under the peat there is a layer of impermeable clay (lake clay) 0.5 - 1 m thick (Leopoldskroner Moos). The Schallmoos, largely built up today, has clay and silt deposits that are several tens of meters thick.
Only a few remaining areas such as the Samer Mösl or parts of the Leopoldskroner Moor have been preserved in their natural character, the majority has been drained, used as fat meadow or arable, or has been redesigned as a commercial and residential area, as in the Schallmoos. The former Kasernmoos and Parschermoos are now destroyed and largely built up.
The floors of the city of Salzburg
In the valleys, which were often flooded before the Salzach regulation, Auboden and Gleyboden prevail . Areas of the Glan and the Saalach are also determined by gley soils and the northern slope of the Kühberg is also covered by this type of soil. Pseudogley soils can be found in waterlogged areas at the foot of the Gaisberg, but also in areas that were once waterlogged below the cemetery terrace.
The bog areas in Landwied and the Leopoldskroner Moos are covered with partially strongly decomposed bog soil. Residual moor soils can also be found in the greater Salzburg Airport area, which at the edge once belonged to the Leopoldskron moor complex. In the areas of the dry terraces, but also on Mönchsberg, and in large areas on Gaisberg, brown soils are predominantly found . On the Gaisberg the brown earths are interlocked with red clay soils, at the Plainbergfuß, in the Kasern area and on the Heuberg with rock brown soils. Rendsina soils, mixed with brown earth on a small scale, are predominant on the Kapuzinerberg, the Festungsberg, in large parts of the Kühberg and in the highest elevations of the Gaisberg.
climate
The city of Salzburg in the Salzburg Basin is between 420 and 430 m above sea level in the Adriatic. Salzburg has a predominantly Atlantic-maritime climate, which is characterized by mild winters and moderately warm summers with year-round precipitation. Compared to other Austrian cities, the city's climate is characterized by comparatively mild temperatures, but above all by high amounts of precipitation and more frequent strong winds.
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Salzburg
Source: temperature, hours of sunshine, rainy days and water temperature: the international climate index , precipitation: klimadiagramme.de
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history
Since around 1820, meteorological data has been collected and evaluated regularly in the city of Salzburg. The meteorological station on the Alter Markt in Salzburg has existed since 1889 and is now a listed building. The city's most important air-conditioning station at the airport today has been in existence since 1939.
Temperature and hours of sunshine
The long-term annual mean air temperature between 1971 and 2000 is 9.0 ° C. The annual mean temperature of Graz and Klagenfurt, as well as the cities of the province of Salzburg south of the state capital, is lower, that of the federal capital Vienna is 1.3 ° higher. The temperature values of Munich, Zurich and Prague are similar across Central Europe. The highest measured temperature is 38.6 ° C, the lowest measured temperature is −29.0 ° C. These temperature values do not apply to thermally disadvantaged areas of the city, for example in the vicinity of the Untersberg, in the mountain shadow of the Salzburg city mountains and in Langwied. In winter, the Langwied area is often the coldest area in the city.
The average number of days with snow cover is 60.2, with a long-term decreasing trend due to global warming.
The average total number of hours with sunshine per year is 1701.1. This value is sometimes significantly lower at the edge of the pool area and in the east, south and north of the city mountains. It is lowest in the city in the north of the Kapuzinerberg.
Precipitation
The city of Salzburg has comparatively high amounts of precipitation compared to the flatlands and overall. They are almost twice as high as in the federal capital Vienna. The number of days with precipitation is also comparatively high at 141.2. Due to the damming effect of the Limestone Alps, higher amounts of precipitation are recorded in the south of the city than in the north-west bordering Alpine foothills but also than in a large part of the inner-Alpine areas of the State of Salzburg. Due to its location on the northern edge of the Alps, foehn occurs frequently. The comparatively high mean temperatures in the city are largely due to this fact. The climatic peculiarities also include the increased tendency to inverse temperature.
wind
Compared to the plains, the city has dominant local winds. Two directions are fundamentally important for air movements: the horizontal and vertical exchange. The vertical and horizontal air exchange together cause a weakening of the urban heat island and lead to an overall good renewal of the polluted air in the city. In the south of the city and in the city center near the Salzach, the large-scale west-east winds are largely diverted to north-south currents. At the airport, winds running from NW-SE were still transmitted. On the slopes of the wide valley there are mountain and valley winds, which are also determined north-south and have a typical constant course of the day. The city is therefore supplied with fresh air from the south to the southeast and from the north to the northwest.
The main flow axis of the winds runs in the west via Anif and Maxglan with the airport to Bergheim. In the east of the Salzburg Basin (Hallwang, Parsch, Aigen) weak and local winds are predominant.
The western part of the city with the Leopoldskroner Moos, a large part of Maxglan and Liefering and the vicinity of the Salzach are well ventilated. The well-ventilated areas also include parts of Gnigl and Schallmoos. The south of the city (south of Rainberg, Mönchsberg and Kapuzinerberg) and the area of Kasern and Itzling are only moderately ventilated. The areas of Riedenburg, the parts of Aigen near the Gaisberg, the area near the slope north and south of the Kapuzinerberg and the area of Langwied are poorly ventilated. Parts of the old town and the areas close to the slopes around the Mönchberg and Rainberg, including a large part of the Nonntal, are among the poorly ventilated parts of the city.
The mean wind speed in the city of Salzburg is 2.3 m / s. it is lower than in the foothills of the Alps, since easterly winds in particular only reach the Salzburg basin at a reduced rate. The wind strengths are higher than in Klagenfurt (1.4 m / s) or Graz (1.5 m / s) or most other Austrian cities in inner-Alpine basins. Strong winds with a speed of more than 40 km / h occur mainly in the fresh air corridor near the Untersberg and at higher altitudes of the Gaisberg.
Inversions
The location in the Salzburg Basin often leads to fog formation and temperature reversals. Cold air flows from the surrounding area and the nocturnal radiation lead to the formation of cold air lakes in the Salzburg basin and thus to inversion weather conditions . During this time, a significantly reduced air exchange can be expected. During this time, the deep air becomes increasingly enriched with pollutants. Such temperature inversions occur mainly in the months of October to March.
literature
- Gabriele Rupnik, edited by Werner Mahringer and Herbert Weingartner: Salzburger geographical works Volume 37, self-published by the Institute for Geography of the Univ. Sbg. Salzburg. 2003
- Peter Kramml et al: Statistical Yearbook of the City of Salzburg 2006/2007 - Salzburg in Figures, published by the Archives of the City of Salzburg, January 2009
- The future development of the city of Salzburg - The REK 2007 in accordance with the resolution of the local council of December 17, 2008. Magistrat Salzburg, series of publications on Salzburg city planning, issue 35, Office for city planning and transport, Salzburg 2009