Decrease in the Water Level of Lake Prespa (North Macedonia) Studied by Remote Sensing Methodology: Relation with Hydrology and Agriculture

Soria, Juan M.; Apostolova, Nadezda

doi:10.3390/hydrology9060099

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Additionally, the fact that land cover, and especially agricultural land, has remained stable are converging to the long-term stability of the lake water areas, and thus water contents. The nearest case study examined by similar research was lake Prespa, a transboundary natural lake, located in the borders of Greece, Albania, and Northern Macedonia [ 38 ]. Although lake Prespa is subject to a century-long decrease in water content, it is suggested that increased irrigation of agricultural land has significantly contributed to a more intense rate of water storage loss [ 38 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The nearest case study examined by similar research was lake Prespa, a transboundary natural lake, located in the borders of Greece, Albania, and Northern Macedonia [ 38 ]. Although lake Prespa is subject to a century-long decrease in water content, it is suggested that increased irrigation of agricultural land has significantly contributed to a more intense rate of water storage loss [ 38 ]. Moreover, another study, examining arid lakes in China, has indicated human uses, and alterations of the basin’s hydrology, as major drivers of lake water loss [ 69 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Accordingly, this research aims to assess the long-term trends in hydroclimatic variables in western Greece, where several natural lakes are located. Despite the large amounts of available consistent remote sensing data concerning quantitative indices of the water cycle, only a couple of studies have focused on these aspects of the lake water cycle, e.g., water area, water level, or water storage [ 30 , 38 ]. However, there have been several applications of remote sensing techniques on the qualitative characteristics of inland water bodies [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigating Hydroclimatic Variables Trends on the Natural Lakes of Western Greece Using Earth Observation Data

Gourgouletis

Baltas

2023

Sensors

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Expected global climate change is allegedly becoming more intense, and the impacts on water resources are being tracked in various hydroclimatic regimes. The present research investigates a hydrologically important area of Greece, where four natural lakes are concentrated. It aims to quantify any potential long-term trends in lake water area, precipitation, and temperature timeseries. Water area timeseries spanning four decades are estimated by the mNDWI from Landsat satellite imagery and used as an index of each lake’s water storage. Precipitation and temperature measurements are obtained from the open access datasets Hydroscope and ERA5-Land, respectively. All of the timeseries were tested seasonally and annually with the Pettitt and Mann–Kendal tests for statistically significant breakpoints and trends detection. No timeseries analysis resulted in a statistically significant (at 0.05 or 0.1 levels) annual or seasonal trend. The hydroclimatic regime over the past forty years in western Greece is found to have been relatively stable. Land use was also assessed to have been relatively unchanging, converging to the overall stability of the local water regime. However, the findings of this research should not be interpreted as a reassurance against climate change, but as a call to further research for the detailed regional and local assessment of climate change and hydroclimatic variability with acknowledged statistical approaches.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Investigating Hydroclimatic Variables Trends on the Natural Lakes of Western Greece Using Earth Observation Data

Gourgouletis

Baltas

2023

Sensors

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Newly Discovered Fourteenth Century AD Stationary Fishing Installations Near Nakolec, Lake Prespa (North Macedonia)

Donev,

Weissova,

Ivanović

et al. 2023

Journal of Wetland Archaeology

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The Catastrophic Water Loss of Ancient Lake Prespa: A Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Trajkovski,

Apostolova

2024

Hydrology

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The Prespa–Ohrid lake system in the southwest Balkan region is the oldest permanent lake system in Europe and a global hotspot of biodiversity and endemism. Its smaller component, Lake Macro Prespa (or simply called Prespa), shared by North Macedonia, Albania and Greece has suffered a dramatic water-level fall (nearly 10 m since the 1950s). It was greater in the periods 1987–1993 and 1998–2004 and has further accelerated in the last 5 years. Analysis of satellite images (remote sensing) revealed that over the period 1984–2020 Prespa Lake lost 18.87 km2 of its surface (6.9% of its size, dropping from 273.38 km2 to 254.51 km2), with a decline in the volume of water estimated as about 54%, even reaching 56.8% in 2022. The environmental status of the lake has also been compromised and the process of its eutrophication is enhanced. The aim of this study is to summarize the current understanding of the diminishing trend in the water level and the factors that have contributed to it. The lake is highly sensitive to external impacts, including climate change, mainly restricted precipitation and increased water abstraction for irrigation. Importantly, nearly half of its outflow is through karst aquifers that feed Ohrid Lake. Of note, the hydrology and especially hydrogeology of the catchment has not been studied in sufficient detail and accurate data for the present state are missing, largely due to a lack of coordinated investigations by the three neighboring countries. However, recent estimation of the water balance of Prespa Lake, elaborated with the consideration of only the natural sources of inflow (precipitation and river runoff) and outflow (evaporation and loss of water through the karst channels) suggested a negative balance of 53 × 106 m3 annually. Our study also offers an estimated projection for the water level in the future in different climate scenarios based on linear regression models that predict its complete loss before the end of the present century.

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Decrease in the Water Level of Lake Prespa (North Macedonia) Studied by Remote Sensing Methodology: Relation with Hydrology and Agriculture

Cited by 3 publications

References 37 publications

Investigating Hydroclimatic Variables Trends on the Natural Lakes of Western Greece Using Earth Observation Data

Investigating Hydroclimatic Variables Trends on the Natural Lakes of Western Greece Using Earth Observation Data

Newly Discovered Fourteenth Century AD Stationary Fishing Installations Near Nakolec, Lake Prespa (North Macedonia)

The Catastrophic Water Loss of Ancient Lake Prespa: A Chronicle of a Death Foretold

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