Lake Kinneret

Site Name

Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) 

LTER site established at 1969

Site manager: Gideon Gal

Contact: Gideon Gal, gal@ocean.org.il / Raz Tamir +972525013580 |  

 EMAIL: razt@ocean.org.il

Operating Organization: Kinneret Limnological Laboratory (KLL), IOLR

General Site Description:

TThe Kinneret Limnological Laboratory (KLL) is situated at the ‘Sapir’ Site (Tabha) on the shores of Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). The Lake Kinneret monitoring program conducted by KLL has been operating since Jan. 1969. The program has provided a unique database and information, due to the sampling resolution, accuracy of the measurements, and their continuity, it is used to make operational decisions and environmental policy.

The monitoring program includes several stations around the lake and from numerous depths and includes fixed on-lake, high-resolution, and manual sampling of water samples analyzed in the laboratory.

The Kinneret monitoring program has expanded in recent years and currently has four fixed on-lake and online sampling platforms, strategically placed, each with thermistor chains and multi-probe sensor systems including one that is a profiling system. Also, the program includes collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture to carry out monitoring of fish and fisheries in the lake.

As the lake suffers typically from two seasonal cyanobacteria blooms, (i.e., a winter Microcystis bloom and a summer N-fixing cyanobacteria bloom) routing monitoring of cyanobacteria biomass and toxins is conducted and adaptive to the extent of the bloom. This is carried out simultaneously with satellite imaging over the lake.

Purpose of Site: 

The Kinneret Limnological Laboratory is actively engaged in continuous monitoring of the water quality within Lake Kineret and conducts research to better understand the processes that occur in the lake and their impact. The collected monitoring and research data play a crucial role in determining the management of the lake. The input provided by KLL, to the Israel Water Authority (IWA) and other policy makers, based on insight and understanding gained from the monitoring program and the research carried out, is a vital component in the IWA’s decision-making process on how best to manage the lake.