Earth Science

This paper deals with the geotechnical investigation of Geopathic Stress Zone. The energy from the earth at specific locations that have the ability to change the normal functioning of human system is called Geopathic Stress. In Structures, soil is an important component; change in Geotechnical Properties of the soil affects the stability of the structure. Experimental investigations on soil at Geopathic Stress Zone reveal that there is change in the properties of soil, due to such energies emitted by the earth, 30% of accidents take place. Investigations carried out by the researchers at mysterious accidental spots on Mumbai-Pune expressway has confirmed accidents occur due to existence of Geopathic stress, but there is no geotechnical investigations carried out on such accidental spots. This paper aims at finding out the change in soil properties due to presence of Geopathic Stress Zone. The conclusions are justified by carrying out different tests on soil such as, “determination of water-content, specific gravity, density, plastic and liquid limits, conductivity, electrical Resistivity and pH value.” The variation in the values of the Geotechnical Properties of soil at Geopathic stress zone is remarkable.

The Bibiani government hospital over the years has recorded high cases of hypertension, anaemia and muscoskeletal pain. Analysis of data acquired from the Bibiani government hospital showed that, cases of hypertension increased in the years 2015, 2016 and 2017. Similar trend was observed for the other diseases. Using the World Health Organisation standard age categorisation to know the age distribution of the reported cases, of the total number of cases reported for the respective diseases, the adult age group recorded higher percentages. The infant age group, recorded an abnormal percentage for anaemia cases. However, the high percentages recorded for the adult and infant age category needs to be investigated. The groundwater quality parameters were compared with the World Health Organisation WHO and Burae of Indian Standard (BIS). Essential trace elements namely Iron, Zinc, Copper and Magnesium were found to be deficient in the drinking water of the inhabitants of Bibiani. The deficiency of the above-mentioned trace elements can be assessed as a possible source to health problems in Bibiani.

The structural complexity within the basement complex of Zaria batholith makes refraction survey and interpretation a very difficult task. Assignment of picked travel time into different layers which is critical for refraction tomography inversion is almost impossible, because it is very difficult to determine when the refraction event becomes the first break in a processed seismic data. Therefore, this research work is aimed at designing a technique that will help in establishing the time at which the refraction event becomes the first break in such situation. The procedure involves conventional travel time plots, identification of the time at which the refraction energy arrives with the aid of the conventional time plot, assignment of layers to the various travel time picks and the tomography inversion process. The results of the conventional travel time plots revealed that average time at which the refraction event becomes the first break was determined to be 33 ms. This was used to assign layers to the travel time picks that were used for tomography inversion that generated a tomography model that correlated very well with a borehole log sited at the centre of the profile. It was concluded that conventional refraction travel time plot will serve as a viable tool for estimating the time at which the refraction event becomes the first break necessary for refraction tomography inversion in regions of substantial complexity or for seismic refraction data that has very low signal to noise ratio.

Physiochemical parameters of river water and groundwater samples from Morang and Gumani river basin, Jharkhand was assessed to find out their suitability for domestic and irrigation use. Water samples were categorized as Ca2+ – Mg2+ – HCO3- hydro-geochemical facies and cation and anions are mainly derived from the rock. Individual concentration of Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ , Cl-, F- and SO42+ are within the prescribed limit of WHO and BIS standards. However, NO3- of one groundwater is higher than the permissible limit. River and groundwater is safe for irrigation as per the Soluble Sodium Percentage (SSP) or %Na, Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) and salinity hazard parameter. Magnesium hazard (MH) river water is not suitable for the irrigation and special care needs prior to use.

Hydrostratigraphic mapping and results of pumping test analysis were used to investigate groundwater occurrence and the hydraulic properties of the aquifer systems in the Wuro Juli well field, near Gombe Metropolis, Gombe Sub Basin. The well field is comprised of a set of 13 deep boreholes developed to improve public water supply to Gombe Township. The delineated aquifers have several formation boundaries that inhibited lateral continuity of groundwater flow. At a discharge rate of between 43.20 m3/day and 613.44m3/day, the specific discharge (q) and Hydraulic Conductivity (K) values varied in the range of 1.17-2.03m3/day and 2.75 x 10-2 - 2.06 x 100 m2/day, respectively. The Application of both Chow’s method of Drawdown Analysis and Jacob’s Residual Drawdown Method to drawdown measured during multiple pumping tests in the well field yielded very low Transmissivity (T) and Storativity (S) values. T and S varied in the range of 3.13 x 10-5 - 3.50 x 10-4 m2/sec and 4.40 x 10-8 - 4.00 x 10-7, respectively. The analysis of the distance-drawdown data indicated that a resultant drawdown due to simultaneous pumping of two wells for about 200 minutes ranged from about 30m near the pumping wells to 0.50m over the more distant segments of the radius of influence. The low Transmissivity (T) and Storativity (S) values of the water supply aquifers in the well field caused very low range of cone of depression, culminating in huge drawdown values within some of the pumped wells. This tight cone of depression would limit the actualization of the projected abstraction rate of 4492.80m3/day (187.20m3/hr) required to temporary solve water supply problems in Gombe Town. Structural discontinuities and in particular very low aquifer recharge through rainfall were other important parameters that contributed to the limitation of the groundwater potentials of Wuro Juli well field.

A substantial part of Nigeria is part of semi-arid areas of the world, underlain by basement complex (hard) rocks which are very poor in both transmission and storage of appreciable quantity of water. Recently, a growing attention is being paid on the need to develop water resources in these areas largely due to concerns about increasing droughts and the need to maintain water security challenges. While there is ample body of knowledge that captures the hydrological behaviours of the sedimentary part, reported research which unambiguously illustrates water distribution in the basement complex of the Sokoto basin remains sparse. Considering the growing need to meet the water requirements of those living in this region necessitated the call for accurate water balance estimations that can inform a sustainable planning and development to address water security challenges for the area. To meet this task, a one-dimensional soil water balance model was developed and utilised to assess the state of water distribution within the Sokoto basin basement complex using measured meteorological variables and information about different landscapes within the complex. The model simulated the soil water storage and rates of input and output of water in response to climate and irrigation where applicable using data from 2001 to 2010 inclusive. The results revealed areas within the Sokoto basin basement complex that are rich and deficient in groundwater resource. The high potential areas identified includes the fadama, the fractured rocks and the cultivated lands, while the low potential areas are the sealed surfaces and non-fractured rocks. This study concludes that the modelling approach is a useful tool for assessing the hydrological behaviour and for better understanding the water resource availability within a basement complex.

The groundwater of Igbokoda Coastal Area of Nigeria is characterized by high iron concentrations. Excess iron (Fe) at concentrations above 0.3mg/L in water can give an unpleasant metallic taste and its health effects may include warding off fatigue and anemia. This study therefore assessed the implications of excess Fe in Igbokoda coastal groundwater. The research was carried out using the WHO recommended guideline values, the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) and Larson Index (LI). Hydrochemical results revealed that the pH ranged from 6.8 – 9.8, EC from 67 – 2440(µS/cm), TDS from 43.55 – 1586 (mg/L) and TH from 66.36 – 369.22mg/L. In addition, the selected anions (mg/L) including HCO3, SO4 and Cl ranged from 15.25 – 152.50, 0.00 – 5.32 and 72.00 – 2592.00 respectively. Calcium varied from19.21 – 104.32mg/L and Mg from 3.36 – 75.01mg/L. Iron ranged between 0.01 and 13.74(mg/L) with Mn from 0.00 – 1.00(mg/L). The hydrochemical contents are within approved WHO standard values for potable water except for EC, TH, Cl, Fe and Mn concentrations that exceeded the standard values in some locations. About 97% of the groundwater samples for this research have TH>80mg/L and may not be suitable for domestic purposes as it coagulates soap lather. The chloride values were higher than approved WHO standard of 250mg/L in twenty one locations representing 54% of the groundwater samples. The high chloride values were attributed to saltwater intrusion in the area and could accelerate corrosion of stainless steel even at values as low as 50mg/L. In this research, all LI values in all groundwater samples were greater than 0.5 while 78% have negative LSI values indicating corrosive water. Both LI and LSI revealed significantly that the groundwater of Igbokoda coastal area is corrosive. High levels of Fe and Mn in the groundwater of the study area can result in discoloured water, stain plumbing fixtures and inflict unpleasant metallic taste on the water. In addition, it could result into diseases of aging (Alzheimer’s disease, other neurodegenerative diseases, arteriosclerosis, diabetes mellitus). The groundwater in the coastal area of Igbokoda must be treated by aeration or chlorination which should be followed by physical filtration to allay the health risks of excess iron in the groundwater of the study area.

The concentration of lead, nickel, magnesium, copper and chromium in ground water resources across sapele local government area were assessed in other to ascertain if their concentration show conformity to world health organization (WHO) stipulated standard. In this study, fifty ground water samples were collected randomly across the study area. The result obtained shows that nickel, chromium, copper ranges from 0.90 – 1.00, BDL – 0.06, 0.30 – 1.40, BDL – 0.15GML-1 respectively while lead was below detection limits. The result when matched with world health organization standard revealed that the water are portable.

Sand is an important mineral for the construction industry in the Kenyan society at large. However, protecting the environment in areas where this practice of sand mining takes place has become an environmental concern, given that the demand for sand increases with the growth of industry and construction. Sand mining though sustains the economy of the locals, can lead to considerable environmental damage which varies from pit formation to soil erosion. There is therefore need to put in place measures that can promote the economy of the locals and at the same time conserving the rich and diversified flora and fauna. The objectives of the study were: to identify effects of sand harvesting on land cover, flora and fauna; and to establish sustainable measures of land cover, flora and fauna along riparian land in Kisumu County.It was an experimental research design carried out usingmixed method approaches. A sample size study population of 384 was involved, which comprised of NGO staffs, County Council staffs, local area authority staffs, sand harvesters and the local community. The local communities were randomly sampled while purposive sampling was used to select respondents from the sand harvesters, area chiefs, NGOs and the County Council staffs. Data were collected by means ofself-administered questionnaires, guided interview schedules and observation check list by the researcher. The results indicated that there was negative impact of sand harvesting on land cover, flora and fauna on the riparian land along rivers. It also established the sustainable measures of land cover, flora and fauna in the study area.The research indicated that indeed the harvesting of sand is affecting the land cover, flora and faunaalong riparian land negatively. The vegetation, the wildlife and the land cover are destroyed as the top soil is harvested as sand. Further, the land for agriculture is turned into waste land due to sand harvesting by formation of pits. This has resulted in the loss of the natural beauty of the environment. Because there are also economic gains in sand harvesting, sustainable measures of land cover, flora and fauna along riparian land are recommended. These should include; regulating the harvesting periods or controlled harvesting, re-shaping of the land where sand has been harvested, advocating for continuousawareness and positive education programmes on conservation measures of land cover, flora and fauna and enacting necessary legislative laws aimed at conserving land cover, flora and fauna.

This paper examined some features of informal land market especially in the provision of services in Janruwa. The head of households served as the sample of the study. Simple random sampling technique was used in administering the questionnaires, while in analyzing the data obtained from the respondents descriptive statistics is employed. Most of the information gathered was from the residents of the study area. Informal interviews were also held with some staff of state Urban Development Board and Ministry of Lands and environment. It was found that, since the market operated outside any regulatory framework of the government, transactions in the markets were unrecorded; land purchases were exclusively funded through personal savings; plots were subdivided which were below official standards set for even the low density residential areas; proliferation of informal settlements and there are little or even non provision of basic services. A machinery for recording transaction in the market for the purpose of creating a cadastral data base for the area was recommended; activities of the informal land market should be regulated by government to check the dubious activities of land agents, formal lending institutions should be encouraged to fund the market, Bauchi State Urban Development Board should re-enforce planning and building regulations in Janruwa and Bauchi metropolis in general. Bauchi state government should also provide basic services in the study area.