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The aim of the OLA, long-term Observatory and experimentation on LAkes,  is to provide quality scientific data to understand and ultimately model the evolution of the state and ecological functions of lake systems subjected simultaneously to a change in local and climatic anthropogenic pressures. 

The four great natural peri-alpine lakes (lakes Aiguebelette, Annecy, Bourget and Léman) are at the center of this observatory , thanks to the ecological monitoring process initiated on these systems for several decades. Other lake sites have joined the OLA more recently, especially mountain lakes. 

After being labed SOERE (long-term observation and experimentation system for environmental research) by the National Research Alliance for the Environment (Allenvi) in 2010, OLA is currently included in the national research infrastuctures  AnaEE-France (Analysis and Experimentation on Ecosystems) and IRLIFE (Living in Freshwater and Esturaries).

 Two components structure OLA's actions:

• the first concerns the limnological follow-up on the changes in the status of the lacustrine system

• the second consists of research projects aimed at studying the specific processes (biological, physicochemical, geochemical) that underlie the functioning and evolution of lacustrine systems. This research component is essentially based on limnological and paleolimnological ecosystem approaches to address issues related to the dynamics of lacustrine systems in contrasting and complementary time steps.

The details of the observations, the production and the scientific projects, the SOERE OLA study sites, as well as its partners and the networks in which it is involved can be consulted on the OLA website.

You can access to the IS OLA here.