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Urban eutrophication and its spurring conditions in the Murchison Bay of Lake Victoria

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Abstract

The efficiency of Lake Victoria in providing its ecosystem services to riparian states, both immediate and along the Nile river basin, is strongly related to its water quality. Over the past few decades, eutrophication has increased in the lake arising from increased inflow of nutrients. This study was carried out in the Murchison Bay area of Lake Victoria with the aims of assessing the progress of eutrophication nutrient enrichment into the lake between 1990 and 2014. Using Landsat satellite floating algae index (FAI) products and data from laboratory analysis of water samples, the study revealed that floating algae reoccurred periodically with coverage varying between 1 and 18 km2. The findings also indicated that the range of nitrate-nitrogen concentrations increased greatly with maximum concentrations recorded at 31.2 mg l−1 in 2007 from 0.084 mg l−1 in 1990. The soluble reactive phosphorus concentration range showed a maximum of 1.45 mg l−1 in 2007 from 0.043 mg l−1 in 1990. The chlorophyll levels increased from an average of 17 μg l−1 in 1992 by threefold in 1996 but had however declined and halved in intensity by 2011. The eutrophication that has occurred in Lake Victoria over the past decades has been due to pollution from industrial, residential, and agricultural areas within the catchment.

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Acknowledgments

This study is part of the Africa-China Cooperation Program on Environment which is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST) and coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (No. 2010DFA92820 and No. 2010DFA92800). It was supported in part by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 0400219184).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse Study, Tongji University, Siping Rd 1239, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Martin Kabenge, Hongtao Wang & Fengting Li

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  1. Martin Kabenge
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  2. Hongtao Wang
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  3. Fengting Li
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Correspondence to Fengting Li.

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Responsible editor: Hailong Wang

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Kabenge, M., Wang, H. & Li, F. Urban eutrophication and its spurring conditions in the Murchison Bay of Lake Victoria. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 234–241 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5675-0

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