Floating Mesocosms and Alpine Lake (OLA)
Introduction
The Alpine Lakes Observatory OLA provides scientists with tools and means (boats, probes, basins/mesocosms, laboratories, drone, …) allowing them to explore lake environments and to obtain quality scientific data with the aim of understanding and modelling the evolution and ecological functions of these systems, which are simultaneously subject to a change in local anthropic and climatic pressures.
The "Observation" part, which has been operational for many years, already has a 30 to 60 year history of data (on the large peri-alpine lakes) for many biological and physicochemical parameters. The close interweaving of these in situ data collection and experimental activities enables a better characterisation of the mechanisms of biodiversity response to pressures.
Proposed services
- Custom experimental services in enclosed environment;
- Custom experimental services in natura;
- Access service for in natura long-term experiments
- Data providing services;
- Sample providing services;
Detailed service offer
The platform provides scientists with a wide range of services:
- in situ experiments on ecosystems
- instrumentation for long-term monitoring and in situ measurement of environmental parameters
- devices and tools for collecting samples and data on the ecosystems studied
- customised experiments on the ground (mesocosms, artificial rivers)
- Provision of data collected by the platform
Pricing
Tarification à renseigner
Platforms
Échantillonnage et mesures en lac
The in situ intervention means make it possible to sample and measure bio-physical-chemical parameters in lakes at different depths along the water column. This service relies on means at the lake consisting of 4 boats equipped with winches (electrical or mechanical), their trailer and a van type vehicle to move them. The available equipment allows:
- water sampling (discrete or integrated depth) using sampling bottles (freeflow or integrating bottles; Pelletier integrated sampling bell),
- plankton sampling (bacterioplanton, phytoplankton and zooplankton using special sampling bottles or nets),
- in situ measurements via multi-parameter probes (vertical profiles of physico-chemical parameters: Temperature, O2, pH, Conductivity,…) & high frequency temperature sensors (Tinytag),
- the use of fishing gear (nets, pelagic trawls, bongo, etc.) and hydroacoustic gear (on-board or autonomous via the Harle UAV).
Customised experimentation service on site
This service is based on a fish farm supplied with lake water (pumping at two depths in Lake Geneva) and equipped with about 20 basins (indoor and outdoor) and 2 thermostatically controlled chambers, as well as artificial rivers (4 replicas of outdoor canals) which allow the development of ecology experiments (microbial in particular) or ecotoxicology experiments (i.e. effects of pesticides)
Lake experimentation service
This service is made up of 12 mesocosms (experimental bags with a volume of approximately 5000 L each) which allow hypothesis tests to be carried out in situ. They can be deployed, in whole or in part, near the INRAE station in Thonon (DDT authorisation required) on Lake Geneva, or in other lakes subject to obtaining authorisations.
Caractérisation biodiversité et analyses de laboratoire
Different measuring devices can be used to characterize several components of lake biodiversity and associated bio-chemical parameters. Some equipment is strictly limited to the laboratory (flow cytometer with cell sorter, microscopes and binocular magnifiers, PhytoPAM, spectrophotometers,…) others are deployable in situ (BBE probes, benthotorche).
Système d'information
The alpine LAkes Observatory includes a database gathering all data monitored on the lakes (phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish, physical chemistry, etc..). The collected data is the data obtained in situ such as probe sensors data providing lakes’ depth profiles (pH, T °, turbidity, transparency, fluorescence, etc..) as well as the data from counting or analyses obtained from samples in the laboratory. The four alpine lakes which are monitored are Lake Geneva, Lake Annecy, Lake Bourget and Lake Aiguebelette. In addition, data acquired on 25 high-altitude lakes is also referenced in the OLA Information System.