Announcing a new project in Benin, Africa!

C. Sappa/DeA Picture Library

Twice a year, Geoscientists Without Borders® (GWB) reviews proposals from Universities and non-profits all over the world. Our most recent project was submitted by Boise State University (Boise, Idaho, USA) titled "Seismic imaging to help understand and manage water quality in coastal Benin, West Africa." The project will be conducted by faculty and students from Boise State, the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA), and University d'Abomey-Calavi (Benin, West Africa). Along with the humanitarian benefit, the project serves as hands-on training for geophysics students, both US and international, who will gain vital field experience and benefit from the unprecedented amount of technology exchange among the three partner schools.

Located between Nigeria and Togo, Benin is home to over 8 million people, half of whom are under 14 due to the devastating effects of the AIDS epidemic. The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands.

The GWB project will be centered on the coastal city of Cotonou, Benin's largest city with approximately 1.5-2.0 million people, whose citizens rely on the Godomey aquifer for water. Currently, the aquifer is undergoing saltwater intrusion and the problem is likely to worsen without significant steps to improve management of the pumping system. Lake Nokoué, a nearby water body, has high salinity levels throughout much of the year and is thought to be the primary source of salinity in the aquifer. The continuity of the aquifer and saltwater flow paths are poorly understood, but this information is critical to ensure sustainable access to fresh water in this growing urban center.

Using seismic reflection and electrical resistivity, project members hope to map the primary aquifer system and identify flow pathways for saline water over the course of two field campaigns. The first field season will focus on land seismic acquisition and coincident resistivity data in the area west of Lake Nokoue and into the Godomey well field. The second field season will be focused on marine seismic acquisition on Lake Nokoue and repeated electrical resistivity measurements. All seismic profiles will be tied to existing well logs with the primary objective of mapping the water bearing units and locating saltwater flow paths, which will provide critical information to the local water management agency for improving hydrologic models of the aquifer. 

Congratulations to the Boise State team! Learn more about all of our projects at www.seg.org/gwb.