Lake Kasumigaura long-term monitoring station - Japan

Field studies at Lake Kasumigaura, run by National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), were incorporated into the Global Environmental Monitoring Systems (GEMS)/Water Project in 1996, when the Center for Global Environmental Research (CGER) became the head office for Japan's National Focal Point for the project. In 2011, the head office has been transferred to the Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies (CEBES). The long term monitoring has been implemented by CEBES in collaboration with the Center for Regional Environmental Research. Studies on Lake Kasumigaura have been conducted for nearly 40 years since the establishment of NIES, accumulating huge amount of data on water quality and other variables. However, the data resources were not prepared for practical uses among researchers as methods and data formats were not standardized and some data were missing. The purpose of Lake Kasumigaura Database development is to provide basic data of Lake Kasumigaura for the GEMS/Water project as well as researchers and the general public, and to contribute to research and policy-making with regards to conservation of lakes and marshlands. Lake Kasumigaura is regarded as an important lake for a long-term monitoring network. Not only as a trend station for GEMS/Water, but Lake Kasumigaura has also been designated as a monitoring site for “Japan Long-Term Ecological Research Network (JaLTER)”and “Monitoring Sites 1000”.