A regional approach to water shortage problems in the Sahel region of Africa
- Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ., Fort Wayne, IN (United States). Dept. of Geosciences
The Sahel region of Africa has repeatedly experienced drought periods, such as those highlighted during the early to mid-eighties. Water, an essential of life, is a scarce commodity in the region. Lake Chad is the major source of water for approximately ten million people across four nations. For proper management of water resources in this persistently drought prone region, the regional hydrology must be understood. Remote sensing, geophysical, and geochemical techniques are currently being used in an attempt to understand the hydrology of the region. Preliminary results indicate that lineament trace analysis from remote sensing can be correlated with faults/fractures of the region, with important implications for its hydrology. Field data indicate groundwater recharge from the lake to the southwest of the Chad Basin. Because of the low annual rainfall (less than 30 cm), a high rate of evaporation (230 cm/yr) and clay-rich surface materials (topsoil) of the region, Lake Chad appears to be its main source of water, either as surface or groundwater, as indicated by preliminary isotopic data. Understanding the hydrology of the region is imperative for the proper management of water resources in this drought-prone part of Africa. The governments of the Sahel need to approach the water shortage problem from a regional point of view.
- OSTI ID:
- 46041
- Journal Information:
- World Resource Review, Vol. 7, Issue 1; Other Information: PBD: Mar 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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