Determination of Shallow Groundwater Aquifer Geometry using Geo-Electrical Techniques in the Atankwidi Sub-Basin of the White Volta Basin, Ghana

This paper presents the research findings on the delineation of shallow groundwater aquifer geometry in Atankwidi sub-basin of the White Volta Basin. The potential use of shallow groundwater for small-scale dry season irrigation is a key issue for irrigation development in the arid zone of Ghana. Farmers within the Atankwidi sub-basin of the White Volta Basin are increasingly adopting groundwater as a source of irrigation water due to the unavailability of surface water during the dry season. There is therefore the need to determine the shallow groundwater aquifer geometry in order to ensure sustainability in the application and possible expansion of groundwater irrigation in the area. The geometry of aquifer system in the Atankwidi sub-basin has therefore been delineated using geophysical (VES and EM) techniques. The depth to water table in the sub-basin ranged from 0.4 - 7.8 m with a mean of 1.7 m whiles the depth to bedrock varied from 2 - 38.3 m with a mean depth of 8.4 m. The mean saturation thickness of the aquifer system is 6.3 m with a minimum and maximum thickness of 0.1 m and 35.0 m respectively. The estimated potential volume of groundwater storage of the aquifer system in the sub-basin is 370,777,191.2 m3. Keywords: Shallow Groundwater Irrigation; Aquifer geometry; Shallow wel

Physico-Chemical Analysis of Surface and Groundwater in the Ayensu River Basin in the Central Region of Ghana

The hydrochemistry of the Ayensu river basin in the central Region of Ghana has been established. The methodology consisted of physicochemical sampling and laboratory analysis of both groundwater and surface water resources in the Basin and basic statistical analysis of the laboratory results.. Generally, the groundwater is weakly acidic with a mean pH value of 6.33±0.01, had high electrical conductivity and TDS values in the range, 297.65 to 6011.0 and 100.85 to 2746.0 respectively. Three main hydrochemical facies have been identified in the basin. These are Na- Cl, Ca- Mg - Cl and Ca - Mg - SO4 water types. Groundwater is to a large extent potable. However, approximately 24% and 22% respectively of groundwater samples had chloride and sulphate concentrations slightly exceeding the respective WHO maximum acceptable limits for drinking water. The concentrations of aluminium, iron and manganese were the only minor ions that significantly exceeded their respective detection limits. Nearly 43% of the groundwater samples had the Al3+ concentrations exceeding the WHO acceptable limit of 0.2 mg/l for drinking water, which reflects the acidic nature of the groundwater. The main geochemical process influencing the hydrochemistry of the Ayensu river basin is mineral dissolution. Keywords Groundwater quality, hydrochemistry, Mineral dissolution, Central Region Ghana. 

Assessment of the Quality of Shallow Groundwater for Irrigation in the Atankwidi Sub-Basin of the White Volta Basin, Ghana

The potential use of shallow groundwater for small-scale dry season irrigation is a key issue for irrigation development in the arid zone of Ghana. Farmers within the Atankwidi sub-basin of the White Volta Basin are increasingly adopting groundwater as a source of irrigation water due to the unavailability of surface water during the dry season. However the quality of the groundwater and its suitability for irrigation is not known, hence the need to assess the quality and its suitability in order to ensure sustainability in the application and possible expansion of groundwater irrigation in the area. Two main water types (Ca-Mg-HCO3 and Na-Mg-Ca-HCO3) have been determined using the Piper diagram. The relative abundance of cations in the groundwater was found to be in the decreasing order of Na+ > Ca2+ > K+ > Mg2+ > Fe2+. Similarly, that of anions was found to have a decreasing order of HCO3- > SO42- > Cl- > PO42- > NO3- > F-. Groundwater in the area had low SAR and low to medium salinity hazard. However, magnesium hazard and alkalinity problems are likely to limit its use for irrigation. Keywords: Shallow Groundwater, Hydrochemical facies, Irrigation Water Quality

Approche descriptive et compréhensive de la dépression: Aspects émotionnels, cognitifs, culturels et liens d'attachement: Nouveaux visages de la névrose?

National audienc

Comparación de indicadores de producción lechera en Cerdas Creole y large white en un medio tropical húmedo: primeros resultados

A total of one hundred and twenty seven lactations were used to study the effect of genotype (Creole vs Large White) on lactating performance. This experiment was conducted in Guadeloupe (F.W.I., 16° Lat. N., 61° Long. W) between June 2001 and April 2003. Over a 28-d lactation length, average daily feed intake was significantly lower (p<0.01) in Creole (CR) than in Large White (LW) sows when it was expressed in kilograms or in grams per kilogram of metabolic body weight (3.1 vs 4.3 kg/d and 73 vs 80 g/d/ kg0.75). After farrowing, first parity CR sows were 26 kg lighter compared to primiparous LW sows. This difference was accentuated in multiparous sows (i.e., -95 kg). On average, body weight (BW) loss during lactation was not affected by the genotype. However, the backfat thickness loss was significantly higher (p<0.001) in CR than in LW sows (16 vs 30 mm). Litter size at birth and at weaning were significantly reduced (p<0.01) in CR than in LW sows (8.7 vs 10.3 and 7.7 vs 9.1, respectively). The piglet BW gain and mean BW at weaning were significantly lower (p< 0.01) in CR compared to LW sows (190 vs 208 g/d, and 6.35 vs 7.06 kg respectively). Daily feed intake pattern during lactation differed between LW and CR sows. CR daily feed intake increased constantly whereas LW daily consumption increased rapidly during the 1st wk and remained around 4.8 kg over the last 3 wk of lactation. In conclusion, LW sows have better lactating performance than CR sows

Comparación de indicadores de producción lechera en Cerdas Creole y large white en un medio tropical húmedo: primeros resultados

A total of one hundred and twenty seven lactations were used to study the effect of genotype (Creole vs Large White) on lactating performance. This experiment was conducted in Guadeloupe (F.W.I., 16° Lat. N., 61° Long. W) between June 2001 and April 2003. Over a 28-d lactation length, average daily feed intake was significantly lower (p<0.01) in Creole (CR) than in Large White (LW) sows when it was expressed in kilograms or in grams per kilogram of metabolic body weight (3.1 vs 4.3 kg/d and 73 vs 80 g/d/ kg0.75). After farrowing, first parity CR sows were 26 kg lighter compared to primiparous LW sows. This difference was accentuated in multiparous sows (i.e., -95 kg). On average, body weight (BW) loss during lactation was not affected by the genotype. However, the backfat thickness loss was significantly higher (p<0.001) in CR than in LW sows (16 vs 30 mm). Litter size at birth and at weaning were significantly reduced (p<0.01) in CR than in LW sows (8.7 vs 10.3 and 7.7 vs 9.1, respectively). The piglet BW gain and mean BW at weaning were significantly lower (p< 0.01) in CR compared to LW sows (190 vs 208 g/d, and 6.35 vs 7.06 kg respectively). Daily feed intake pattern during lactation differed between LW and CR sows. CR daily feed intake increased constantly whereas LW daily consumption increased rapidly during the 1st wk and remained around 4.8 kg over the last 3 wk of lactation. In conclusion, LW sows have better lactating performance than CR sows

A study on the mixing proportion in groundwater samples by using Piper diagram and Phreeqc model

Piper (1944) diagram has been the basis for several important interpretations of the hydrogeochemical data. As seen in this diagram, most natural waters contain relatively few dissolved constituents, with cations (metals or bases) and anions (acid radicles) in chemical equilibrium with one another. Apart from the facies representation, the composition of the mixed sample can be identified in terms of the composition of the parental solution. To bring out this advantage of the Piper diagram, a study was conducted in the Kalpakkam region of Tamilnadu, South India. By taking the geology and water table into consideration, two sample locations were selected as parent solution and third one as the mixture sample. All three samples were analyzed for calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), potassium (K), chloride (Cl), sulphate (SO4) and phosphate (PO4) by Ion Chromatograph (Metrohm IC 861). HCO3 was determined by volumetric titration. The Piper diagram shows that parent solutions clustered towards Na-Mg-Ca-HCO3-Cl and Na-HCO3 facies, and the mixing sample belongs to Na-Mg-HCO3 facies. Phreeqc interactive (Ver 2.8) along with the original composition of the mixture sample was used to correlate the mixing proportion identified by the Piper diagram