Change detection for Lake Burullus, Egypt using remote sensing and GIS approaches

Area of Science:

• Environmental monitoring
• Remote sensing
• Geographic Information System (GIS)

Background:

• Lake Burullus, Egypt's second-largest natural coastal lake, is vital for its economic fish yield.
• Anthropogenic activities, including industrial, agricultural, and reclamation efforts, have degraded water quality and reduced the lake's area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detect and analyze spatiotemporal changes in Lake Burullus's surface area from 1972 to 2015.
• To assess the impact of human activities on the lake's water body extent.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 12 Landsat imageries (MSS, TM, ETM+) from 1972-2015.
• Applied Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) for MSS and Water Ratio Index (WRI) for TM/ETM+ imageries to extract water features.
• Employed Geographic Information System (GIS) for overlaying multi-temporal maps and visualizing changes.

Main Results:

• A significant decrease of approximately 49% in Lake Burullus's water surface area was observed between 1972 and 2015.
• The most rapid decline in lake surface area occurred between 1972 and 1984.
• A prediction model for lake water area was developed based on the findings.

Conclusions:

• Lake Burullus has experienced substantial shrinkage over the study period, primarily driven by anthropogenic pressures.
• The study highlights the effectiveness of remote sensing and GIS in monitoring environmental changes in vital water bodies.
• Urgent conservation and management strategies are needed to mitigate further degradation of Lake Burullus.