Evaluation of climate and human effects on the hydrology and water quality of Burdur Lake, Turkey

Burdur Lake is one of the deepest lakes of Turkey. The lake is closed basin and is recharged by rainfall, surface flows and underground flow. Discharging of the lake is only supplied with evaporation from the lake. This study aimed to investigate the coastline and water level changes of the Burdur lake and to identify the causes for decline in the lake levels. Nine satellite images, precipitation, evaporation, discharge and lake level records were used to analyze the coastline changes of the lake. From the results of the image analysis, the levels of the Burdur Lake dramatically and shrunk in area from 1975 to 2016. The lake area decreased from 210 km(2) to 131 km(2) between 1975 and 2016 years, the shrinking area was 37%. The results of hydrologic, climatic and human activities data analyses suggest that the change of lake levels might depend more on human effects than on climatic factors.