Water level and volume estimations of the Albano and Nemi lakes (central Italy)

Abstract

In April 2006 an airborne laser scanning (LIDAR) survey of the Albano and Nemi craters was carried out to obtain a high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the area. We have integrated the LIDAR survey of the craters and the recent bathymetry of the Albano lake to achieve a complete DTM, useful for morphological studies. In addition, with a GPS RTK survey (July 2007) we estimated the Albano and Nemi mean lake levels respectively at 288.16 m and 319.02 m (asl). Based on the integrated DTM and the newly estimated water level values, we evaluated about 21.7-106 m3 the water volume loss of the Albano lake from 1993 to 2007, with an average rate of about 1.6-106 m3/yr.