The Limnology, Climatology and Paleoclimatology of the East African Lakes

IDEAL, the International Decade for East African Lakes, is a ten-year multi-national, multi-disciplinary investigation of the biological, geological, chemical, and physical limnology of the East African Lakes, taking into special account the Great Lakes of the East African Rift Valley and the climatology and paleoclimatology of the Rift Valley itself. The selected papers in this book serve as baseline knowledge for this intensive examination, with most of the contributing authors already actively researching these lakes. The oldest in the world and the largest on the continent, the lakes are vital resources for the indigenous populations of their basins. They are unique not only in their diverse populations of endemic species of fish and invertebrates, but in their sensitivity to climatic change, unusual circulation dynamics and water-column chemistry in relation to higher altitudes, and continuous record of climatic change in tropical Africa. This volume provides an overview of our current knowledge of the lakes combined with the most recent results of specific research efforts by African, American, and European investigators. Included also are some discussions on the impact of man, as well as comprehensive bibliographies.