François-Alphonse Forel (; 2 February 1841 – 7 August 1912) was a Swiss physician and scientist who pioneered the study of lakes, and is thus considered the founder. He was also professor at the University of Lausanne and the Father of limnology. Limnology is the study of bodies of fresh water and their biological, chemical, and physical features.
Childhood and family
Forel was born in Morges, Switzerland on Lake Geneva. His father, François Marie Étienne Forel (1765-1865) was a well-respected historian and a jurist and was a strong influence in Forel's life. From a young age, François-Alphonse Forel became involved in some of archaeological studies of his father's colleagues. In 1869, he became a science professor at the University of Lausanne (then known as the Academy of Lausanne) which was located near his home at Lake Geneva. He taught histology, anatomy, and physiology.
But his real love was the lake; his investigations of biology, chemistry, water circulation, and sedimentation, and most importantly their interactions, established the foundation of a new discipline. He named his activity limnology in analogy with oceanography ("limnography" could have been confused with the limnograph, which measures water level in lakes).
In his chief work, Le Léman was published in three volumes between 1892 and 1904. The volumes covered a range of topics including the definition of limnology, as well as the geographic settings, geology, climatology, hydrology and bathymetry of lake systems. The Monograph then went on to describe lacustrine hydraulics, seiches, waves and currents, temperature stratification, optics, acoustics and chemistry. This was cemented by his publication of a handbook on the topic. He discovered the phenomenon of density currents in lakes, and explained seiches, the rhythmic oscillations observed in enclosed waters.
In collaboration with Wilhelm Ule, developed the Forel-Ule scale, used to evaluate the color of a body of water. In a totally different field, in cooperation with the Italian seismologist Michele Stefano de Rossi, he developed the Rossi–Forel scale to describe the intensity of an earthquake.
End of life and legacy
thumb|274x274px|A monument by sculptor Raphaël Lugeon commemorating François-Alphonse Forel's life and legacy.
By the time of his death in 1912, he had amassed a total of 288 academic publications.
So wide was his knowledge that he was referred to as "the Faraday of Lakes" in his obituary in Nature Magazine.
Forel (station) in Maule, Chile is named after him after he lived close to the station.
The submersible F.-A. Forel (PX-28) is named after him and has been used to make scientific measurements in Lake Geneva.