A short introduction

Lakes are fascinating ecosystems and important natural resources for drinking water, fisheries, recreation and tourism. However, lakes are extremely sensitive to changes in land-use and climate, as well as to different sources of pollutants. In consequence, they provide early warning signals for global changes, by integrating information on their whole catchment area. To study and predict these changes, we have installed the most advanced experimental station ever set up on a lake.

Since February 2019, LéXPLORE platform is anchored on Lake Léman near Pully. This platform is equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation, to obtain simultaneous observations of physical, chemical and biological processes at high temporal and spatial resolutions. This unique dataset will allow modelling the key processes in the lake, in order to predict the lake evolution and the impacts of environmental changes.

Localisation

The platform is situated at 570 m from the shoreline at 46°30’0.819″ N and 6°39’39.007″ E. The water depth below the platform is 110 m.