STUDENTS’ RESEARCH PROJECTS IN HYDROLOGICAL STUDIES: EFFECTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE APPROACH FOR GROUNDWATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPING NATIONS (Invited Presentation)

Groundwater resources are essential water supply sources for drinking, hygiene and development in developed and developing countries. Groundwater is crucial for agriculture and food security, and serves as a defence against ecosystem loss due to climate change. Groundwater utilisation in Sub-Saharan Africa is limited due to widespread low-yielding and low-storage crystalline basement aquifers, limited information on the spatial and temporal distributions of groundwater storage due to inadequate research and development, and critical shortcomings in organisational framework and building of institutional capacity. Groundwater will be increasingly relied upon in the region to substantially meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of no poverty (Goal 1), zero hunger (Goal 2), good health and well-being (Goal 3), and clean water and sanitation (Goal 6). Students’ research projects in hydrological science are effective approaches that can be deploy to advance the current understanding of the hydrological processes in the region and thus increase access to freshwater, guarantee water security, and preserve the environment and fragile ecosystems closely associated with water resources. This paper presents case studies of students’ research projects based on geophysical techniques to address the constraints to sustainable utilisation of groundwater resources in Nigeria. The case studies presented are drawn from both sedimentary and crystalline basement complex terrain. The paper highlights the challenges with using geophysical methods for groundwater investigation and practical ways of addressing the challenges. We conclude with the prospect of integrating geophysical methods with hydrogeological methods to advance the efficient and sustainable utilization of groundwater resources in the foreseeable future.

Keywords: Student’s research project, Geophysical methods, groundwater investigation, Aquifer characterisation, Sustainable management, Nigeria