The use of long-term, high-frequency, automatic sampling data in a comparative study of the hypolimnia of two dissimilar Alpine lakes

Modern technology allows high-resolution measurements of water temperature and particle fluxes to be conducted automatically in lakes. Such measurements can obviously be useful in elucidating the mechanisms responsible for short-term anomalous events in lakes. If the measurements can be conducted over a sufficiently long period of time, however, they can also be useful in determining the likely effects of longerterm anomalies in forcing, such as those associated with climate change. We describe the results of several years of highresolution measurements of temperatures and particle fluxes in the hypolimnia of two dissimilar lakes in the European Alps - Lej da Silvaplauna and Lago Maggiore (Bay of Pallanza) - and show how they reflect both short-term and long-term forcing anomalies.