ECOLOGICAL AND FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT OF LAKE MANZALAH (EGYPT) 1. HYDROGRAPHY AND CHEMISTRY OF LAKE MANZALAH

ECOLOGICAL AND FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT OF LAKE
MANZALAH (EGYPT)
1. HYDROGRAPHY AND CHEMISTRY OF LAKE MANZALAH
LAILA SHAKWEER
National Institute of Oceanography And Fisheries
Key word: Lake Manzalah, Hydroghraphy, Water- Chemistry,
ABSTRACT
Lake Manzalah; the largest delta Lake in Egypt represents a dynamic system that has
been undergoing continuous and pronounced changes since long times. In the last year’s
this Lake faced drastic problems that retarded its environmental and fisheries development;
the most serious one is the discharge of waste water. It is attempted in the present study to
investigate the chemical characters of Lake Manzalah water during 2001-2002. Water
temperature ranged from an average of 12.35
oC in January and 29.14
oC in July. Dissolved
Oxygen, pH and total dissolved solids were found in ranges optimum for the living of
marine and freshwater fish species. The average concentrations of nutrients lied in the
following ranges:
1.24 to 4.89 µmol PO4
-3
l
-1
, 5.08 to 28.73 µmol SiO4
-2
l
-1
and 1.81 to 17.7 µ
mol NO3
-1
l
-1
The concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen compounds were found to be relatively
higher at the southern regions of the Lake near to the outlets of the drains