US-Benin Planning Visit: Research on Groundwater Flow through Fractured Rock Masses

这是一个计划访问奖给圣母大学土木工程和地质科学系的Stephen E. Silliman博士，他将前往贝宁会见贝宁国立大学地球科学系的Moussa Boukari博士。这次访问的目的是制定一个合作研究项目，以划定通过裂隙岩体的地下水流动，并从十个地点收集初步的地球化学和历史数据集。在贝宁和非洲其他地方一样，可供家庭使用的大量高质量水非常稀少。贝宁的大部分供水是通过人工挖井或钻入破碎的结晶岩中提供的，但由于缺乏确定最佳水源所在位置的能力，因此产生了许多干井。拟议的研究活动将研究裂缝位置、地质学、地球化学、远程成像以及当地水系统和钻井历史的土著知识之间复杂的相互关系。研究结果有望为在裂隙结晶岩层中寻找优质水源提供一种科学的方法。该项目的资金由国际项目司和地球科学司共同提供。

9978192SillimanThis is a planning visit award for Dr. Stephen E. Silliman, of the Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, to travel to Benin to meet with Dr. Moussa Boukari, of the Department of Earth Sciences at the Universite Nationale du Benin. The purposes of the visit are to develop a cooperative research project for the delineation of groundwater flow through fractured rock masses, and collect initial geochemical and historical data sets from ten sites. In Benin, as elsewhere in Africa, high-quality water in ample quantities for domestic use is very scarce. Much of Benin's water supply is provided by wells which are hand dug or drilled into fractured crystalline rock, but the lack of ability to identify where the best sources of water are located produces many dry wells. The proposed research activity will study the complex interrelationships among fracture location, geology, geochemistry, remote imaging, and indigenous knowledge about local water systems and drilling histories. The results are expected to produce a scientific method for locating high-quality water sources in fractured crystalline rock formations. Funding for this project is being provided jointly by the Division of International Programs and the Division of Earth Sciences.