2002 Denver Annual Meeting (October 27-30, 2002)

Paper No. 5
Presentation Time: 1:30 PM-5:30 PM

GEOCHEMICAL SIGNATURES IN GROUNDWATER OF BENIN


SCHOOLEY, Sara E., Dept of Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological Univ, 1700 Townsend Dr, Houghton, MI 49931, BUSSMANN, Matthew E., Department of Civil Engineering, Princeton Univ, 409 Conway Village Dr, St. Louis, MO 63141 and SILLIMAN, Stephen E., Dept. of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, Univ of Notre Dame, 156 Fitzpatrick Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, bussmann@princeton.edu

The economic vitality of Benin is increasingly dependent on cotton production in their agricultural sector. This study, based on sampling of groundwater, soils, and precipitation, focuses on characterization of anthropogenic signatures in the groundwater contained in the underlying fractured igneous and metamorphic rocks. Element analysis, developed using IC, ICP-MS, and ICP-OES, provides a substantial data set on which Principal Component and Cluster Analyses are performed. The combination of the sample analyses and the statistical tools provides for identification of natural and anthropogenic sources.