Earth Science

Beekeeping is among the livelihood diversification strategies likely affected by climate variability. The variation in temperature and rainfall influence forage phenology impacting on honey production in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) in Kenya. The study focused on the relationship between rainfall variability on honey production among the pastoral communities. Rainfall variability was exhibited in the study area in some circumstances drought was experienced annually. On average, 19 plant species were recorded that the bees prefer in the study area. Rainfall variability has significant positive correlation (r=0.423;p=0.00) on the effect on plant phenology thus altering flowering periods of many of the forage plants, changing the foraging behaviour of bees resulting to decrease in honey production. The findings of this study indicate that variation in rainfall has had an adverse effect on honey production and therefore there is need to incorporate land management strategies that will improve honey production in ASALs for sustainable livelihoods among pastoral communities in the context of climate variability.

This study is aimed at estimating the sedimentary thickness of the Upper Benue Trough (Nigeria) as revealed by the Aeromagnetic data using the Spectral Analysis and Euler Deconvolution techniques. The area investigated covers from 090 00’ - 100 00’N and from 110 30’ - 120 30’E. An average sediment thickness of 3.98km was estimated which could favour hydrocarbon accumulation and maturation. There is a NE-SW increase in sedimentary thickness which varied from 2.2km to around 5.2km; it is thickest in the NE region. Verification was performed using the Euler deconvolution method which revealed clusters of Euler depth solutions within the low magnetic zones of interest (between 2km and above 3km). Combining both methods implies that a sedimentary depth of up to 4km (to 5km) could be possible especially in the Yola, Mayo Balewa and Bubila regions which thus increase the probability of hydrocarbon maturation and entrapment in these areas.

Etu field is located along the proximal margin of the Coastal Swamp I depobelt, a subbasin within the Niger Delta clastic wedge formed by margin collapse into underlying undercompacted shale. A Petrophysical framework evaluation for Etu field was constructed by combining data from Seven (7) Well Logs within hundreds of meters thick, define layers of reservoirs and sealing strata formed during episodic progradational and retrogradation of deltaic shorelines. The quality of the reservoirs are moderate to good and in some distal reservoirs, they are excellent. The average porosity values are approximately the same, but have variation in permeability which could be as a result of compaction of older reservoirs on the proximal part of the field. A total of thirty seven (37) reservoirs between 3000-4500 (m) were demonstrated. Sixteen (16) of the reservoirs are oil bearing, Six (6) are gas bearing while Fourteen (14) are water saturated

The removal of hydrocarbons from contaminated soil is an essential practice because of environmental and health concerns, and in order to avoid further contamination of surface and groundwater. A variety of oil-contaminated soil remediation methods, categorized as physiochemical, biological and thermal remediation were compiled and summarized. However, the efficiency of these methods depends on several factors, such as the amount of spilled oil and the penetration depth of the oil into the soil, the type of oil and polluted soil, and the age and degree of contamination. With respect to remediation in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria, it has been shown by studies that bioremediation and phytoremediation are the best methods that have been used in the area for the remediation of petroleum in soil due to the fact that it is cheap, easy to manage (even by the community), proved to be effective in enhancing biodegradation and environmentally safe. Finally, as there is no universal method that can be generally applied to completely remove the oil from contaminated sites, thus, the prevention of oil spills or leakages should be the first concern. However, if oil spills or leakages occur, a response should be taken immediately to minimize the potential environmental consequences. Furthermore, constant environmental monitoring, assessment, and evaluation to determine the level of damage that is caused by oil spills on the environment.

The effect of fly ash additions on the mechanical properties of ceramic tile composition has been investigated. Fly ash addition in the range of 0-30wt% (Class-A) and 0-30wt% (Class-B) have been added into the tile body composition, wet milled, spray dried,shaped and fired at different temperatures (900, 1000,1050 and 1100 C). The MOR strength improved with increasing fly ash content and reached maximum when 30wt% (Class-A) and 20wt% (Class-B) fly ash used, and with greater additions it decreased. A linear correlation between strength development and Mullite formation was found. The tile with 30wt% fly ash (Class-A) and 20wt% (Class-B) have improved bending strength and have lowest porosities. The effects of fly ash incorporation on the mechanical properties of ceramic tiles and found that a small amount of fly ash addition improves the strength of the ceramic tiles.

This paper estimated the Overpressure magnitudes as well as the resulting “required mud weights” for safe drilling in three Niger Delta Wells (PNW1, WSW2, and WSE1) .PNW1 revealed maximum overpressure magnitude at the depth of 16,000ft with pressure value of 13,120psig. WSW2 showed maximum overpressure magnitude at the depth of 11,600ft with pressure value of 14,500psig while WSE1 revealed an overpressure value of 12,050psig at the depth of 10,700ft considered as depth of maximum pressure. These were all derived based on plots of dc-exponent versus depth; the required mud weight for safe drilling especially at the maximum overpressure were as well computed. PNW1 is located at about 77.2km, N31.6oW of Port Harcourt, WSW2 is located at about 65.2km, S61oW of Warri, while WSE1 is located around 30.3km, S14.6oE of Warri; these towns are all in Nigeria. This method can stand alone as an Overpressure prediction and estimation tool since the parameters it requires are obtained while drilling.

The protection of environment and natural resources has high importance in achieving sustainable development. Desertification is one of the major issues threatening human communities. This phenomenon threatens about 40% of the global land surface and has influenced the life of 785 million people. In recent years, desertification control and reduction have been the most important projects in national and international organizations. Many methods have been developed for assessment and mapping of desertification hazards. Decision making problem is the process of finding the best option from all of the feasible alternatives. In almost all such problems the multiplicity of criteria for judging the alternatives is pervasive. That is, for many such problems, the decision maker wants to solve a multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) problem. Purpose of this study is ranking of plant species in order to stabilize sand dunes in dealing with the spread of desertification.according this research Haloxlylon Species with (0/943) point promotes in first rank among 7 studied Species and thus it is the most appropriate Species for stabilize sand dunes in dealing with the spread of desertification and Alhagi maurorum with (0/020) point goes down to the last rank and so it isn`t suitable for stabilize sand dunes and Species (Salsola Kali, Peganum harmala, Seidlitzia rosmarinus, Astragalus, Tamarix hispida) with (0/629, 0/559, 0/485, 0/394, 0/329) points are located in next ranks.

The level of trace elements in groundwater from the southernwestern periphery of the Volta Lake (Manya Krobo area) was determined and their origin assessed by estimating pH, TDS, saturated index (SI), hardness, alkalinity, hardness alkalinity ratio (HAR), groundwater acidification (Aci) and acid neutralizing capacity (ANC). Aluminum, manganese, iron and vanadium concentrations in groundwater at most areas were higher than originally anticipated (i.e. in excess of the WHO recommended guideline values) of a non-mining area. Dissolution of aquifer materials probably enhanced by moderately acidic waters is responsible for mobilization of trace elements in the groundwater in the area. The groundwater samples are generally undersaturated with respect to most of carbonate phases. Though pH showed slightly acidic waters, calculated groundwater acidification (Aci) was low (in fact, negative) and hardness alkalinity ratios (HAR) were consistently less than unity suggesting influence of weak acid probably of natural origin. The positive acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) values recorded throughout indicated a long-lasting superfluous in the acid-buffering capacity of the groundwater in the Manya Krobo area along the Volta Lake. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate other trace metals removal techniques into borehole operations beyond removal of iron.

The unresolved land issue in Chepyuk ward for decades had adversely affected farming competitiveness in spite of the region being fertile and viable for competitive farm production. Lack of security of tenure on the untitled land had a direct bearing on investment (farm inputs) and therefore to a large extends affected farm output. Despite many researches that had been undertaken on Chepyuk land issue, land and conflict had been widely studied rather than farming competitiveness. The studies on farming competitiveness in Chepyuk ward remains scanty and therefore justify more research on the aspect of farming competitiveness. The main objective of this study was to assess the influence of the local culture on land administration and its effects on farming competitiveness in Chepyuk Ward of Bungoma County. A descriptive survey research design was used in this study. The study was guided by theory of land ownership in a free society advanced by Ingalls (2012). The target population was 3120, households, 10 land officers and 10 agricultural officers located at the county level. Multistage sampling technique was used in this study where Simple random sampling was employed when selecting 312 respondents among the households. Five Land officers and Five Agricultural officers were respectively and purposefully sampled for this study. The researcher used questionnaires, interviews and document analysis as the main tools for collecting data. The data from the questionnaires, interviews and document analysis was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The researcher used frequencies and percentages in summarizing data. Information obtained through interviews was discussed to support or dispute the findings from the questionnaires. Tables were used to present the data for purposes of interpretation. The study informs Ministry of lands on the existing gaps in the fight against irregular allocation of land. The study also enables land policy experts in the government review existing mechanisms and systems set to support the Chepyuk area residents in dealing with cases that bring about land conflicts in the area and entire nation. Cultural norms of the community also denied women land ownership rights. The Land officers and Agricultural officers gave similar opinion. Lack of land documentation denied people opportunity to seriously venture into farming with sole aim of attaining food security and profit negatively affecting livelihood of the residents. The government should reposes illegally acquired plots and re-issue to the rightful owners, it should also process land titles for the scheme. The community should also be sensitized to embrace gender equity on land allocations. This will enable residents to actively engage in farming activities hence enhance farming competitiveness in Chepyuk ward. 

An assessment of the quality of Lessel and Korinya baryte deposits was carried out by analyzing their geochemical properties using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results shows that the mean concentrations of BaO, FeO, Cao, MgO, Al2O3, Fe2O3 and SiO2 of Lessel baryte were 77.22, 0.07,1.03, , 0.03, 0.03, 2.25 and 19.08% respectively while at Korinya, the mean concentrations of these parameters were 83.96, 0.04, 2.24, 0.02, 0.03, 2.35 and 11.25% respectively. The result also show that the mean specific gravity of Lessel and Korinya barite depositswere 4.25 and 4.31 respectively. Although the two baryte deposits exhibits close chemical relationship, the Korinya baryte is relatively better in quality in terms of BaO, FeO , SiO2 and specific gravity values. On the basis of BaO,FeO and specific gravity, the two baryte deposits can be used as a weighting material in oil and natural gas drilling. The two barytes are also suitable for glass, paint, and paper production on the basis of their Bao and Al2O3 contents. However, in terms of FeO and SiO2, the two baryte deposits would require beneficiation before being used for glass production. The two barytes would also require beneficiation in terms of FeO contents before being used forfor paint and paper production. The results also indicates that the Lessel and Korinya barytes can be used in the cosmetics, construction and pharmaceutical industries as well as filling materials in the ceramics industry.