Non-Invasive Geophysical Investigation of Failure Along a Section of Ago-Iwoye Market Road, Ago-Iwoye, Southwestern Nigeria

A detailed geophysical investigation was carried outto determine ifthe subsurface geology is responsible for the failures along this road section. This study aims to imageand identifycompetent, moderately competent,and incompetent zones of the subsurface soiland thus to findout ifgeology is responsiblefor the failure along this section of the road.Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) using the Wenner array 2D Imaging, and Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) using the Schlumberger array were adopted for this survey. The geoelectric section from the VES revealed the presence of 3 lithological layers; topsoil, weathered layer (clay, sandyclay, clayey sand),and basement,which is also true for the electrical resistivity images revealed by the 2D electrical resistivity imaging. The results showed that the shallow subsurface beneath the road section is mostly underlain with clay thatis geotechnically incompetent andnot suitable for construction. The causes of road failure are believed to be theresult of the incompetent clayey topsoiland theweathered layer seen inthe profiles, which expand whenabsorbing water and shrink when drying, thuscausing instability beneath the pavement due tothe low shear strength and high compressibility,and also due to fractured basement rocks at shallow depths

Quantitative datasets reveal marked gender disparities in Earth Sciences faculty rank in Africa

As in most disciplines of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM), gender disparity is prevalent in the ranking of Earth Sciences faculties at senior and advanced levels. (i.e., Associate and Full Professors). In this study, a robust database was mined, created, and analyzed to assess the faculty compositions of 142 Earth Science departments in 39 countries across Africa. The data were collected from verifiable online resources focusing on ranks and gender ratios within each department. The studied earth science departments cut across universities in northern, southern, central, eastern, and western Africa. Our data revealed that female faculty members are predominantly underrepresented in most of the departments documented and are markedly uncommon in senior positions such as Professors, associate Professors, and senior researchers compared to their male counterparts. On the contrary, female faculty members are predominant in the lower cadres, such as lecturers, teaching, and graduate assistants. The observed male to female ratio is 4:1. At the base of this gender gap is the lower enrolment of female students in Earth Science courses from undergraudate to graduate studies. To achieve gender equality in Earth Science faculty composition in Africa, we recommend increasing female students’ enrollment, mentoring, awareness, timely promotion of accomplished female researchers, and formulation of enabling government policies. More work-related policies that guarantee work-life balance for female earth science academic professionals should be formulated to attract and retain more women into Earth Sciences careers