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Assessment of hydraulic properties of sedimentary and volcanic aquifer systems under arid conditions in the Republic of Djibouti (Horn of Africa)

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Abstract

The Republic of Djibouti (23,000 km2; 500,000 inhabitants), located within the Horn of Africa, undergoes an arid climate with an average annual rainfall less than 150 mm. Water resources are provided up to 98% by groundwater. Two types of aquifers are encountered: volcanic and sedimentary aquifers. This paper focuses on the assessment of their hydraulic properties, which is necessary for future tasks regarding the management of these aquifers. To this end, a data base consisting of all available pumping test data obtained since the 1960s was compiled. Pumping tests have been interpreted to determine transmissivity. Solely for volcanic aquifers, transmissivity also has been estimated through an empirical relationship using specific capacity corrected for turbulent well losses. The transmissivity of each type of aquifer can span up to four orders of magnitude, pointing out their strong heterogeneity. For the various volcanic rocks, the younger the rock, the higher the transmissivity. The transmissivity of volcanic rocks has therefore decreased in the course of geological time. At present, a much better understanding of the hydraulic properties of these complex aquifers has been obtained, which should enable optimal management of their groundwater resources through the use of numerical modeling.

Résumé

La République de Djibouti (23,000 km2; 500,000 habitants), située dans la Corne de l’Afrique, subit un climat aride avec une pluviométrie moyenne annuelle inférieure à 150 mm. Les ressources en eau sont fournies à plus de 98% par les eaux souterraines contenues dans des aquifères sédimentaires ou volcaniques. Cet article a pour objectif l’évaluation des propriétés hydrauliques de ces aquifères, étape indispensable pour entreprendre par la suite des études en vue de la gestion de ces aquifères. Une base rassemblant les données d’essais par pompage disponibles depuis les années Soixante a d’abord été établie. Les essais par pompage ont été interprétés pour déduire la transmissivité. Concernant les aquifères volcaniques, la transmissivité a également été estimée à l’aide d’une relation empirique reliant la transmissivité et le débit spécifique corrigé des pertes de charge anormales. La transmissivité pour chaque aquifère couvre jusqu’à quatre ordres de grandeur, montrant la forte hétérogénéité de ces milieux. Pour les roches volcaniques, on observe que la transmissivité est d’autant meilleure que la roche est plus jeune. Leur transmissivité a ainsi diminué durant les temps géologiques. La compréhension des propriétés hydrauliques de ces aquifères complexes est à présent bien meilleure, ce qui permet d’envisager une gestion optimale de leurs ressources à l’aide de modèles numériques.

Resumen

La República de Yibuti (23.000 km2, 500.000 habitantes) está situada en el Cuerno de África, donde se han formado diversas unidades volcánicas—basaltos y riolitas—y rocas sedimentarias desde la expansión de los continentes acaecida al inicio de la deriva continental (hace 30 millones de años). La precipitación media anual es inferior a 150 mm. Las rocas volcánicas y sedimentarias, con dimensión inferior a 2.000 km2, constituyen acuíferos locales. Los basaltos estratificados forman un acuífero regional que se extiende a más de 9.000 km2. La multitud de datos existente ha sido almacenada desde los años 1960 en una base de datos. La transmisividad de estos acuíferos ha sido determinada mediante datos de ensayos de bombeo y una relación empírica que usa la capacidad específica corregida con las pérdidas turbulentas en el pozo. La transmisividad de estos acuíferos se comporta como una variable lognormal, hecho importante para los trabajos previstos de modelación con métodos estadísticos. La transmisividad de cada acuífero puede variar hasta en cuatro órdenes de magnitud, manifestando su gran heterogeneidad. Para los materiales volcánicos, la transmisividad es mayor cuanto más joven es la roca. La permeabilidad de las rocas volcánicas ha evolucionado por tanto con el tiempo geológico. Actualmente, se posee un mayor conocimiento sobre las propiedades hidráulicas de estos acuíferos complejos, de manera que se puede hacer una gestión óptima de sus recursos hídricos subterráneos con la utilización de modelos numéricos.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully thank the anonymous reviewer whose comments, suggestions and corrections have greatly helped to bring this article to its final form.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hydrogeology, CERD, PB 486, Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti

    Mohamed Jalludin

  2. Department of Hydrogeology UMR 6532, University of Poitiers, 40 avenue du Recteur Pineau, 86022 , Poitiers Cedex, France

    Moumtaz Razack

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  1. Mohamed Jalludin
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  2. Moumtaz Razack
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Correspondence to Moumtaz Razack.

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Jalludin, M., Razack, M. Assessment of hydraulic properties of sedimentary and volcanic aquifer systems under arid conditions in the Republic of Djibouti (Horn of Africa). Hydrogeology Journal 12, 159–170 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-003-0312-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-003-0312-2

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