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Adv. Geosci., 11, 113-116, 2007
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Spatio-temporal water body and vegetation changes in the Nile swamps of southern Sudan

G. Petersen1, J. A. Abeya2, and N. Fohrer3
1HR Wallingford Ltd, Howbery Park, Wallingford, Oxon, OX10 8BA, UK
2World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, P.O. Box 30677-00100 GPO, Nairobi, Kenya
3Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Ecology Centre, Department of Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Olshausenstr. 75, 24118 Kiel, Germany

Abstract. An assessment to describe and quantify the extent of changes in the channel and lagoon system of the Sudd was carried out using Landsat satellite images of 1973, 1979, 1997 and 2002. Using supervised classification and visual interpretation after referencing the images, the water bodies for a representative area between Bor and Shambe (a stretch of 150 km) were delineated. The resulting files were compared to establish and quantify changes in-between the years and as well compared to Lake Victoria outflow data to assess a likely correlation which was found for the largely water level dependent lagoon system. Changes in the channel system were interpreted to happen in a certain pattern but the extent of changes could not be correlated to the outflow data as they are influenced by other, here not considered factors like wind drift and channel blockages by vegetation.

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Citation: Petersen, G., Abeya, J. A., and Fohrer, N.: Spatio-temporal water body and vegetation changes in the Nile swamps of southern Sudan, Adv. Geosci., 11, 113-116, 2007.   Bibtex   EndNote   Reference Manager

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