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Geoelectrical characterisation of aquifers in Bauchi-Alkaleri-Kirfi geological transition zones, Northeast Nigeria

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Abstract

Geological transition zones (GTZ) have proved to be hydrogeologically problematic, owing to poorly defined basal and lateral contacts between the rocks. Several occurrences of abortive wells in GTZ overtime has necessitated the need to characterise groundwater potential zones (GPZ) in these zones. Attempts have been made to delineate the complex lithological contacts in GTZ using geophysical and geological methods. However, the characterisation of groundwater prospective zones in these complex lithological contacts, which are very significant to the sustainable management of groundwater in GTZ, have not received much attention. Therefore, this study focused on the characterisation of the groundwater prospects of aquifers in a typical GTZ in Bauchi-Alkaleri-Kirfi areas, Northeastern Nigeria. Geological mapping was employed for the lithological delineation of rocks while geoelectrical mapping using 94 vertical electrical sounding (VES) was adopted for characterisation of subsurface media (aquifers). Three thematic maps comprising of aquifer resistivity, thickness and lithology were integrated using overlay analysis in the GIS environment to generate a GPZ map. Geologically, the basement part of the GTZ is underlain by migmatite, gneiss, granite and charnockite while the sedimentary areas were underlain by the sandstone units of the Tertiary Kerri Kerri Formation. The VES data indicated a generally 3–5 geoelectric layer system within the sedimentary zones with aquifer thickness of 11–158 m in the sandstones. However, the Basement Complex areas revealed saprolite thicknesses of 2.4–83.8 m (migmatite/gneiss), 1.3–67.3 m (granite) and 1.2–44.6 m (charnockite), suggesting a better aquiferous medium in the migmatite/gneiss units. Consequently, integration of thematic maps revealed three GPZ namely: poor zones (charnockite and granite), moderate zones (migmatite/gneiss and granite), and good zones (dominantly sandstone). This study shows the efficacy of applying GIS to VES data in groundwater exploration for better management of groundwater resources.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to the Department of Physics, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi for providing the instrumentation for the study and the Department of Civil Engineering for providing the software for the geophysical analysis.

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  1. Matteo D’Alessio

    Present address: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Geology, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, Bauchi, Bauchi State, Nigeria

    Abdullateef Lawal

  2. Department of Geology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

    Moshood N. Tijani

  3. Nebraska Water Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA

    Matteo D’Alessio

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All the authors contributed equally to the preparation of this manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Abdullateef Lawal.

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Lawal, A., Tijani, M.N. & D’Alessio, M. Geoelectrical characterisation of aquifers in Bauchi-Alkaleri-Kirfi geological transition zones, Northeast Nigeria. Environ Earth Sci 79, 224 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-08978-5

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