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PROJECT

LACOS/METAESTANY

Thanks to the Joan Oró and Salvador Grau i Tort scholarships, we started the LACOS and METAESTANY projects, where we study mountain lakes in collaboration with secondary schools in the Pyrenees.

These projects, awarded by the Catalan Research and Innovation Foundation and the Alt Pirineu Natural Park, have as a common objective the study of the importance of mountain lakes in the carbon cycle, specifically in their metabolism and carbon dioxide emissions (CO2). We want to test whether mountain lakes are carbon emitters or reservoirs, as well as whether human impact such as over-frequency or the introduction of invasive species affects this balance.

See online data

The LACOS project (Lakes, Carbon, Oxygen, Schools) and METAESTANY (the metabolism of the Pyrenean lakes as an indicator of global change), are led by the scientist Núria Catalán, an aquatic biogeochemist, currently affiliated with the Institute of Environmental Diagnosis and Research of the Water (IDAEA) of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), together with the scientists Anna Lupon, Ada Pastor, Carolina Olid, Marc Ventura, Teresa Buchaca, Laure Gandois and Esperança Garcia.

This study will provide a better understanding of the functioning of high mountain lakes in order to make good decisions for their preservation and make them more resilient in the face of climate change.

To carry out the study, oxygen and CO2 sensors have been installed in two lakes in the Alt Pirineu Natural Park, one affected by the introduction of fish for fishing, which makes its green waters, and the other, already restored without fish, which makes its waters crystal clear again. We will compare how this impact and restoration affects the metabolism of the lakes, and we will begin to monitor if the restored one, of great scenic value and quite frequented, is suffering impacts related to this over-frequency.

One of the main objectives of the project is to share live science with the secondary schools of the Pyrenees, through the collection and analysis of data and the direct participation of students. With this involvement we want to raise awareness of the importance of conservation.

If you are a teaching center interested in joining the project, contact us here!

CO2 online!

This is the atmospheric CO2 concentration in the catchment that surrounds a lake in the Alt Pirineu Natural Park.
If you can’t see the data click here to refresh

*Values not corrected by atmospheric pressure or temperature

Thanks to LACOS and METAESTANY, you can find here almost instantaneously the CO2 concentration data in the catchments of Tres Estanys and Naorte lakes.

Also, several high-schools from the Pyrenees are invited to explore more in depth these data to understand the reasons behind the variability in concentrations and how do they relate with the lakes, their ecological state and the ecosystem that surrounds them.

If you are a teaching center interested in joining the project, contact us here!

International Mountain Day

This year, for the International Mountain Day, IDAEA (CSIC) and the Kilian Jornet Foundation join forces to lead conservation projects in high mountain lakes in the Pyrenees, promoting the regeneration of these valuable ecosystems. The projects METAESTANY and LACOS, funded by Fundació Recerca and Parc Natural Alt Pirineu, aim to understand the importance of mountain lakes in the carbon cycle, specifically their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and to test whether these decrease with ecosystem restoration.

Join and celebrate this special day by enjoying this video and the these incredible natural ecosystems!