Within this project in cooperation with the CNR institute for ecosystem research (ISE) in Pallanza spatial patterns of sediment deposition related to major flood events are investigated. Several short sediment cores from different parts of the basin of Lago Maggiore covering the last 50-100 years have been taken. Detrital layers (turbidites) will be identified and characterised through microfacies, geochemical (XRF scanning at sub-millimetre resolution) and mineralogical techniques. The occurrence of instantaneous sedimentation events will be compared with the historical flood record and related rainfall data. Reconstruction of the sedimentological impacts of flood events is of further importance for the palaeoclimatic studies in the sub-alpine area. The long term vision of better understanding sedimentological processes and sediment distribution within the lake basin during well described floods is to establish long time series of floods reaching far back into prehistorical times. Event layers occur throughout lake sediment records in changing frequencies indicating recurrence of periods of intensified flood activity.