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The Baget karstic catchment area (Pyrenees, Ariège) is a medium-elevation (498-1417 m) mountain ecosystem covering an area of 13.25 km2. It is drained at the surface level by the Lachein stream. The objective of the Baget station is to monitor the response of this catchment area to climate change and anthropogenic disturbances (in terms of its water quality and biodiversity) by analysing changes in abiotic (hydroclimatic, physicochemical and isotopic) and biotic (land use, etc.) parameters, as well as the evolution of the ecosystem and its various habitats.
This basin is essentially forested with a zone of meadows in its central upstream part, being very little anthropised. The climate, with 1380 mm of precipitation per year and an average annual temperature of 10.7°C, is mountain temperate with an oceanic influence and a bimodal rainfall regime (December and May).
The RENOIR station is located at the edge of the catchment area, above the village of Balagué at an altitude of 655 m, in an open, high plateau area covered by meadows mainly dedicated to livestock.
![RENOIR_BAGET_Photo Palmex_2 RENOIR BAGET](https://sno-renoir.osups.universite-paris-saclay.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/RENOIR_BAGET_Photo-Palmex_2-scaled.jpg)
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![RENOIR BAGET RENOIR BAGET](https://sno-renoir.osups.universite-paris-saclay.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/RENOIR_BAGET_Photo-exutoire-1.jpg)
Monitoring
Instrumented since April 1968 for hydrological monitoring immediately downstream of the main perennial outlet (Las Hountas), the Baget station, managed by the Functional Ecology and Environment Laboratory, aims to:
- monitor the evolution of seasonal variations in the isotopic signal of the rain and the Lachein stream, in addition to the major elements;
- determine the origin of the climatic influences on precipitation and trace the spatio-temporal contributions of the various critical zone reservoirs to the water flows, particularly during periods of flooding.
This site belongs to the OZCAR (National Network of Critical Zone Observatories) and the RZA (National Network of Zone Work Groups) Ris (Research Infrastuctures), the SNO-Karst (National Observation Service for Karstic Systems), and the Pyrenean site of the PYGAR Zone Work Group. Within this framework, it supports numerous interdisciplinary projects.
High-resolution monitoring is carried out using multi-parameter probes, recording sensors and automatic samplers. This site has some of the longest hydrochemical records of the above networks.
![ping](https://sno-renoir.osups.universite-paris-saclay.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ping.png)
Présentation de la station du Baget
The RENOIR station has been instrumented since July 2019 with a Palmex-type collector, equipped with a cylindrical snow collection system in winter. Physicochemical parameters of precipitation are determined in parallel with isotopic measurements. A meteorological station was re-installed in July 2019 on its historical site.
An agreement was signed with the Balagué town hall for this installation
18O and 2H precipitation data have been collected at monthly intervals since integration of the Baget station into the RENOIR network (in July 2019).
Meteorological and major chemical data in precipitation are available from July 2019 onwards.
In parallel, water isotope contents have been monitored at the stream outlet at monthly intervals and more frequently during flood episodes since 2016.
Latitude
Longitude
Altitude
![baget](https://sno-renoir.osups.universite-paris-saclay.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/baget.jpg)