Life on the platform is constantly changing, shaped by maintenance operations, the variety of ongoing projects, new installations, repairs, and unforeseen events. To give you a concrete idea, here are a few examples of events that have taken place over the past three months.

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Maintenances on the platform 

Every month, a general maintenance session is held for the platform, bringing together technicians from the various partner institutions. During these sessions, Guillaume Cunillera and Jérémy Keller (EPFL), Floreana Miessen (UNIL), Michael Pluess (EAWAG), and Christelle Viglino (UNIGE) work to calibrate instruments, maintain the infrastructure, and carry out repairs and improvements

And of course, the last maintenance session of 2025 before the holidays was an opportunity to enjoy the traditional fondue on the platform. 

LACTEL electrical installation + flotation system

The LACTEL project has seen recent improvements. After being damaged by waves, the experimental tank was repaired and then fitted with its electronic components to carry out the first measurements. The device consists of two tanks, each with a capacity of 8 m³, submerged one above the other. Inside, light sensors detect the passage of particles from cosmic rays using the Cherenkov effect, which produces a bluish light when the particles travel through water at high speed. The goal is to better understand these particles by analyzing their direction and nature.
More info : https://lexplore.info/lac-telescope/

Wind2Waves project installation 

In 2025, the LéXPLORE technical team conceived, designed, and built a structure on the south side of the platform. This structure will be used for several purposes : 

  • Drone landing for the Medusa project or for medias
  • Increase the capacity to install open-air measuring instruments on the southern side of the platform.
  • To have a flexible system that provides shade in the summer and protection on rainy days.

On March 20, the Wind2waves team from University of Geneva (Maura Brunetti, Jerôme Kasparian, Michel Moret, Bryan Kunz) installed their additional structure on top. And quite soon the instruments will be installed : Inertial sensor, ultrasonic anemometers, ultrasonic sonar sensors and Cameras. More info : https://lexplore.info/current-projects/wind2waves/.

Reinstallation Wave Buoy 

At the end of February, the Wave Buoy returned to the lake and is now taking measurements with improved time resolution—three measurements of 20 min each per hour instead of one per hour before. Additionally, a new parameter is now being recorded: the Energy Period (in seconds). 

The data is accessible on Datalakes : https://www.datalakes-eawag.ch/datadetail/885 

The deployment of the wave buoy has already enabled the measurement of several notable events, including the windstorm on March 25. 

During this event a section of the protection perimeter that was already a little worn also broke and had to be replaced

The cable of our Idronaut CTD profiler (https://www.datalakes-eawag.ch/datadetail/666) also broke during this wind event, and the probe sank directly to the bottom of the lake at 110m. The technical team had to use the ROV to recover the probe.

ROV LéXPLORE. 

(ROV : Remotely Operated Vehicule)
Multiple ROV missions have helped us refine our settings and prepare for future operations.

  • Check LéXPLORE ADCP 

ADCP : Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler. An ADCP is a current meter that measures the speed and direction of currents using the Doppler effect.
The ROV was used to check if mussels had colonized the ADCPs and whether they required cleaning.

Cleaning is therefore not necessary at this time. Here is a video from January 2023 for comparison, when cleaning was needed:

  • Recovery of a lost ADCP in Buchillon

After 6 years in the lake, we finally brought it back to the University last month !