Monitoring of Bardawil Lake, Egypt using Satellite images for Sustainable Management

Bardawil Lake is one of the unique wetland’s areas along southern Mediterranean shoreline. The lake plays an important role in the economy of the national and local community. The lake has different natural resources which need to be optimally used like fisheries, high qualified salts and even sands that surround the lagoon. The lake concerns many difficulties the most dynamic one is the sedimentation of the artificial inlets channel. Remote sensing techniques were used as effective tool for mapping and monitoring the coastal lakes to enhance the sustainable management and also to continue optimal utilization of its valuable natural resources. This study aims to detect sedimentation around inlets, which impacts water body circulation. Water current changes affect salinity values, leading to shifts in fisheries types. Through changes in the period 2013–2021 using nine Landsat satellite images and the Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI). Obtained results show an increase and decrease in the area of Bardawil lake, from the year 2013 to the year 2021 without any discernible pattern. Furthermore, the lake boundary increases in 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2020 during the dredging operations of two inlets. In contrast, it decreases at 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2021. Sediment accumulation in the man-made inlets, which limits water movement with the Mediterranean Sea, is the lake's biggest problem. Lastly, one of the most important tools for tracking environmental changes in Bardawil Lake is remote sensing technology facilitate the expedited assessment.