Huge reserves of underground water in some of the driest parts of Africa could provide a buffer against the effects of climate change for years to come, scientists said on Friday in London.
Researchers from the British Geological Survey and University College London have for the first time mapped the aquifers, or groundwater, across the continent and the amount they hold.
“The largest groundwater volumes are found in the large sedimentary aquifers in the North African countries Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan,” the scientists said in their paper.
They estimate that reserves of groundwater across the continent are 100 times the amount found on the its surface, or 0.66 million cubic kilometres.
Writing in the journal, Environmental Research Letters, they cautioned, though, that not all these reserves could be accessed.
“Where they can, small-scale extraction using hand pumps would be better than large-scale drilling projects, which could quickly deplete the reservoirs and have other unforseen consequences.
“Groundwater is no panacea for Africa’s water shortages but it could form an important part of a strategy to cope with an expected sharp increase in demand for water as the continent’s population increases.
“Even now, some estimates put the number of Africans without access to safe drinking water at more than 300 million and only five per cent of arable land is irrigated.”
Abeg, mek I do relocate my family from Africa before water swallow all of una ooo
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/africa-sitting-on-sea-of-groundwater-reserves-scientists/
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PoliticxGuru
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