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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Crystalline basement aquifers are important drinking water sources in Nigeria and several sub-Saharan African countries. However, an understanding of their local flow and transport processes and pathways is missing due to limited research. The implication has been their suboptimal management, with frequently reported dry wells and groundwater contaminations. To address this challenge, the Ibadan Hydrogeophysics Research Site was established in 2019 as the first field-scale hydrogeological research laboratory in Nigeria to advance understanding of the geologic, hydraulic, and hydrogeochemical variabilities within crystalline basement aquifers. The over 22,500 m2 research site with a 50 m × 50 m area used for active hydraulic testing is located within the University of Ibadan campus and is instrumented with four initial test wells extending through the weathered and fractured zones to a depth of 30 m each. Preliminary hydrogeological and geophysical studies focused on obtaining a conceptual model and knowledge of hydraulic heterogeneities to aid in detailed experimental and numerical studies. A combination of lithological logs and electrical resistivity revealed areas with subvertical fractures as low-resistivity zones (<200 Ωm), and a pumping test revealed a hydraulic conductivity range of 1.9 × 10−10 to 7.2 × 10−6 m/s. The drawdown–time curve shows flow from single-plane vertical fractures. The results of this study will serve as a basis for further targeted field and numerical studies for the investigation of variability in groundwater flow in complex crystalline basement aquifers. The presented field site is posed to support the adaptation and development of field methods for studying local heterogeneities within these aquifers in Nigeria.

Details

Title
The Ibadan Hydrogeophysics Research Site (IHRS)—An Observatory for Studying Hydrological Heterogeneities in A Crystalline Basement Aquifer in Southwestern Nigeria
Author
Doro, Kennedy O 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Adegboyega, Christianah O 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Aizebeokhai, Ahzegbobor P 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Oladunjoye, Michael A 2 

 Department of Environmental Sciences, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA 
 Department of Geology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan 200132, Nigeria 
 Department of Physics, Covenant University, Ota 231119, Nigeria 
First page
433
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20734441
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2774952810
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.