Kenya, Naivasha site

The rift valley Naivasha site is being used by several MSc courses as a fieldwork site.

Rift valley

Station 1: ITC has a modified Onset meteorological station installed in the upper Naivasha basin along the Wanjohi River inside the New Holland Flowers farm (Coordinates UTM37 220260/9969946 elevation 2400 m asl)
New Holland flowers is located next to an official gauging station of the Ministry of Water (2GB4). The weir, allowing precise low flow measurements, is constructed in 1962. Historical records are available. ITC has temporarily a water level recorder installed close to the weir.

Station 2: is installed in the moorland zone at the top of the Aberdare Range, the watershed divide between the Naivasha basin and the Rivers flowing towards the Indian ocean at a elevation of some 3800 meters. The site is an official site of the Kenya Meteorological Department. The understanding of the East African “Water towers”  (the high volcanic complexes) is crucial since 70% of the water resources originates here and very little observations were available. ITC is working in close collaboration with the Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA), Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) and Egerton University. The meteorological station constantly monitors relative humidity, temperature, incoming radiation and wind speed/direction.

Data from these stations are used by MSc students of ITC and Egerton and constitutes a “core element” of the Postgraduate course final module and the final module of the 4 month course “GIS and EO for IWRM” yearly held in Kenya.

Measurements in Naivasha and the Ewaso Ngiro Basin

Comparison of the thermal skin temperature sensed at 2 meters above the ground to data of the MeteoSat Second Generation (MSG), based on soil moisture, relative humidity, temperature, radiation, PAR radiation, leaf wetness, rainfall, barometric pressure, thermal infrared temperature.

Partners

Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA)
Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS)
Egerton University

PhD students

Jeniffer Kinoti Mutiga

MSc students

P. Mpusia
A. Mohammedjemal