Monitoring at Lake Lugano

19.10.2011  by  Bouke Krom

Francesco Pomati preparing a probe (picture: Marco Simona, Science Institute of the Earth)

An interesting press release from C&EN about the monitoring station in lake Lugano, Switzerland, where Francesco Pomati is using a CytoBuoy instrument to track single-celled life.

The researchers tested their floating setup over 34 days in Lake Lugano, at the border of Switzerland and Italy. As often as six times a day, the monitoring platform collected data about changes in populations of different species, distinguishing between organisms such as free-floating cyanobacteria and phytoplankton that swim using cilia. Along with monitoring daily shifts, the researchers were able to track population changes caused by a three-day storm that mixed shallow and deeper water in the lake.

More info on this project can be found in the Papers section.