Linkages between land cover change, lake shrinkage, and sublacustrine influence determined from remote sensing of...

The Great Rift Valley system is home to many volcanic and tectonic lakes including some of the world's oldest and deepest lakes. These lakes host a rich heritage of biodiversity that is endangered by recent drastic hydrologic changes due to multiple natural and anthropogenic stressors in the catchment areas of some of the lakes. This study utilized Landsat TM, ETM+, and OLI data to conduct a systematic investigation of the relationship between hydrological dynamics in the basins of four Rift Valley lakes (Nakuru, Baringo, Bogoria, and Elementaita) and recent land cover and land-use change. The Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) proved to be more accurate and robust for delineating water surface areas when compared to the output of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and classification algorithms. NDVI was successful when delineating water surface at Lake Baringo but not in Lakes Bogoria, Nakuru, and Elementaita, whose surfaces were dominated by algae. All the lakes expanded substantially after 2010 submerging surrounding areas leading to disruption of livelihoods, property damage, and displacement of thousands of people. The recent drastic hydrologic changes have multiple causations including land cover and land use change, increase in rainfall, and possible change in geogenic water input due to tectonic activity. The rapid rise in water levels appears to have altered the biogeochemical balance of the hypersaline lakes with severe ramifications on the rich biodiversity that is supported by the lakes.