DecLakes, a project within the ESF Eurocores EuroCLIMATE program, will provide six well-dated high-resolution records of the oxygen-isotope composition of past precipitation derived from ostracods in the profundal lake sediments from the Northern, Western and Southern margin of the Alps and from North-eastern Poland. The wide spatial distribution will allow to decipher in particular regional variations of past climate variability. A network of experienced research groups, of which each will apply their specific knowledge in isotope analyses, sedimentology and palaeoecology to all sediment cores, guarantees a high degree of comparability of the individual data sets in terms of dating, analytical standards and data quality. These data sets will be used for data-model-comparison applying a hierarchy of models equipped with the explicit modelling of water stable isotopes. The study concentrates on three time windows:

1. the last 1000 years,
2. the period around the prominent cold phase at 8,200 BP, and,
3. the Lateglacial with a special focus on the rapid high-amplitude changes.

The expected outcome of the project will be a spatial view of decadal to centennial climate variability in Europe which will be used to better understand prevailing forcing mechanisms.