Aquifer Potential Assessment in Termites Manifested Locales Using Geo-Electrical and Surface Hydraulic Measurement Parameters
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Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
2
Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Federal University Lokoja, 1154 Lokoja, Nigeria
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Centre for Advanced Modelling and Geospatial Information Systems (CAMGIS), Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
4
Department of Energy and Mineral Resources Engineering, Choongmu-gwan, Sejong University, 209 Neungdong-ro Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05006, Korea
5
Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Environmental Science, Nasarawa State University, 1022 Keffi, Nigeria
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sensors 2019, 19(9), 2107; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19092107
Received: 1 February 2019
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Revised: 4 March 2019
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Accepted: 5 March 2019
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Published: 7 May 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing of Earth Observation: Special Focus on Natural Resources and the Environment)
In some parts of tropical Africa, termite mound locations are traditionally used to site groundwater structures mainly in the form of hand-dug wells with high success rates. However, the scientific rationale behind the use of mounds as prospective sites for locating groundwater structures has not been thoroughly investigated. In this paper, locations and structural features of termite mounds were mapped with the aim of determining the aquifer potential beneath termite mounds and comparing the same with adjacent areas, 10 m away. Soil and species sampling, field surveys and laboratory analyses to obtain data on physical, hydraulic and geo-electrical parameters from termite mounds and adjacent control areas followed. The physical and hydraulic measurements demonstrated relatively higher infiltration rates and lower soil water content on mound soils compared with the surrounding areas. To assess the aquifer potential, vertical electrical soundings were conducted on 28 termite mounds sites and adjacent control areas. Three (3) important parameters were assessed to compute potential weights for each Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) point: Depth to bedrock, aquifer layer resistivity and fresh/fractured bedrock resistivity. These weights were then compared between those of termite mound sites and those from control areas. The result revealed that about 43% of mound sites have greater aquifer potential compared to the surrounding areas, whereas 28.5% of mounds have equal and lower potentials compared with the surrounding areas. The study concludes that termite mounds locations are suitable spots for groundwater prospecting owing to the deeper regolith layer beneath them which suggests that termites either have the ability to locate places with a deeper weathering horizon or are themselves agents of biological weathering. Further studies to check how representative our study area is of other areas with similar termite activities are recommended.
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Keywords:
termite mounds; groundwater; infiltration; VES; GIS; Nigeria
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MDPI and ACS Style
Ahmed II, J.B.; Pradhan, B.; Mansor, S.; Yusoff, Z.M.; Ekpo, S.A. Aquifer Potential Assessment in Termites Manifested Locales Using Geo-Electrical and Surface Hydraulic Measurement Parameters. Sensors 2019, 19, 2107. https://doi.org/10.3390/s19092107
AMA Style
Ahmed II JB, Pradhan B, Mansor S, Yusoff ZM, Ekpo SA. Aquifer Potential Assessment in Termites Manifested Locales Using Geo-Electrical and Surface Hydraulic Measurement Parameters. Sensors. 2019; 19(9):2107. https://doi.org/10.3390/s19092107
Chicago/Turabian StyleAhmed II, Jamilu B., Biswajeet Pradhan, Shattri Mansor, Zainuddin M. Yusoff, and Salamatu A. Ekpo. 2019. "Aquifer Potential Assessment in Termites Manifested Locales Using Geo-Electrical and Surface Hydraulic Measurement Parameters" Sensors 19, no. 9: 2107. https://doi.org/10.3390/s19092107
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