Assessing the feasibility of integrating remote sensing and in-situ measurements in monitoring water quality status of Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe

Publication date: Available online 22 April 2016 Source:Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C Author(s): S. Dlamini, I. Nhapi, W. Gumindoga, T. Nhiwatiwa, T. Dube This work investigates the likelihood of integrating the cheap and readily-available broadband multispectral MODIS data and in-situ measurements in quantifying and monitoring water quality status of an inland lake within Upper Manyame Catchment in Zimbabwe. Specifically we used MODIS images to quantify inland lake chlorophyll_a concentrations, as a proxy for predicting lake pollution levels. The findings of this study show a high chlorophyll_a concentration of 0.101±0.128 μg/L within the Lake. The results further demonstrated that the chlorophyll_a concentration levels did not significantly vary (p = 0.788) between sites, except among depths (p=0.05). Further, prediction results based on the relationship between observed and predicted chlorophyll_a produced a high R2 value of 0.89 and a root mean square error (RMSE) value of 0.003 μg/L. Moreover, the derived landuse maps of Upper Manyame Catchment indicated a significant variation in the percentage settlement in 1985, 1994 and 2010 change from 1985 to 2010. For instance, 8% increase in settlement in the period between 1994 and 2010 and over 12% increase from 1985 to 2010 and a decline in percent forest coverage (i.e. 9.8% in 1985 to 2.0% in the year 2010) in the catchment was observed. Overall, the findings of this study highlights the imp...
Source: Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts ABC - Category: Science Source Type: research