Lake Chad Evaporation (1973-1987)

  • Credit

    NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Lake Chad Evaporation 1973 to 1987

Lake Chad Disappearing between 1963 and 1997: Located on the edge of the Sahara and bordering four countries--Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger--the immense area of this land locked lake has nearly disappeared in recent years. Persistent drought has caused the lake to drop from its former sixth place position in the list of world's largest lakes; it is now one tenth its former size. The basin of the lake is not naturally deep, so the surface area of the lake tended to spread out, keeping the total depth to little more 23 feet (7 meters). In recent years, rainfall patterns have begun to change, and tributaries to Lake Chad have not been refilling the basin as rapidly as they used to. The lush, productive flora and fauna fed by the wetlands of the shallow lake have suffered as a result. This has led to significant changes for various communities of people that live in the vicinity of the Lake. While for some the now exposed lake bed has enabled new land to be cultivated, much of the available fresh water that might have been used for irrigation is no longer dependable. As rainfall rates appear to be declining year after year, people living nearby develop even greater dependence on the lake, draining it even faster.

Lake Chad in 1973

Metadata

  • Sensor

  • Animation ID

    2065

  • Video ID

    SVS2001-0005

  • Start Timecode

    01:01:38:00

  • End Timecode

    01:02:14:00

  • Animator

    Joycelyn Thomson

  • Studio

    SVS

  • Visualization Date

    2001/02/22

  • Scientist

    Michael Coe (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Datasets

    Landsat

  • Keywords

    GCMD--Location--Lake Chad, GCMD--Location--Africa, Evaporation

  • DLESE Subject

    Natural hazards, Environmental science, Hydrology, Agricultural science

  • Data Date

    1973, 1987

  • Story URL

    stories/earthday2001/index.html

  • Animation Type

    Regular