Unique facilities
Pyrenees Limnological Observatory (LOOP)
The Pyrenees Limnological Observatory is located in the Central Pyrenees, near the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park.
It is a joint initiative between the University of Barcelona (UB), the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), and the Blanes Centre for Advanced Studies (CEAB-CSIC), within the GECA research group.
It comprises a field station (owned by the UB), several monitoring points (both lakes and rivers), three automatic weather stations, various river flow measurement stations (with water level and temperature recorders), sensor arrays to measure the water temperature profile in six ponds, and sensors to measure the carbon dioxide balance.
In this network of sampling stations, chemical and biological samples are regularly collected at different time intervals. For water chemistry, samples are taken in eight streams, 14 ponds, and two atmospheric deposition collectors, while biological sampling takes place in four streams and one pond.
The most detailed monitoring is carried out at Estanh Redon, where the water column is sampled monthly at various depths for chemical and biological determinations. To facilitate in situ experimentation, a cabin with basic equipment and a small laboratory has been installed on the lake shore.
In addition to this, samplings covering the entire Pyrenees area have been carried out for decades, obtaining long-term data series of the biogeochemistry of surface waters that are used as indicators of the ecological processes taking place in the Pyrenean hydrological basins and their response to global environmental change.
The paleolimnological studies we conduct also extend the data series much further back in time.
Overall, these activities shape the long-term ecological research programme of the Observatory. In fact, the LOOP is a founding member of the Aigüestortes LTER (Long-Term Ecological Research) node.
The study and monitoring of global change are currently carried out through collaboration within the LTER network and in international networks such as ILTER (International Long-Term Ecological Research), the MRI (Mountain Research Initiative), ICP Waters (International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of the Effects of Air Pollution on Rivers and Lakes), GLEON (Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network), or the GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility).
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