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Hydrology of Lake Tana Basin

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Social and Ecological System Dynamics

Abstract

Lake Tana Basin located in the northeast Ethiopia is one of the tributaries of the Blue Nile. The rainfall over the Upper Blue Nile in general, originates from moist air coming from the Atlantic and Indian oceans following the north-south movement of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone. The area has one main rainy season between June and September, receiving about 70–90% of the annual rainfall. The southern portion of the Tana basin receives the highest rainfall (~1600 mm) with a decreasing trend from south to north (~1200 mm). The dry season occurs between November and April while the wet season occurs mostly between May and October. The basin has four main rivers: the Gilgel Abay , Gumara , Rib and Megech . The Gilgel Abay River alone contributes 60% of the flow into Lake Tana. Lake Tana is the largest lake in the country but is relatively shallow; historically, lake levels have fluctuated within the range of 1784.26–1787.81 m.a.s.l. The hydrological process of the basin is poorly understood and only 42% of the basin is gauged. Recently, efforts have been made to identify the processes by different scientists.

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Correspondence to Elias Sime Leggesse .

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Leggesse, E.S., Beyene, B.S. (2017). Hydrology of Lake Tana Basin. In: Stave, K., Goshu, G., Aynalem, S. (eds) Social and Ecological System Dynamics. AESS Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45755-0_9

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