University Publications

Abstract The study area represents Central Darfur state, that lies in western Sudan. The area is extremely suffering from shortage in water supply. The area is mainly covered by basement complexes, with steeply slope topography, hence the bulk of surface water lost due to surface runoff. The objectives of the current study are to investigate the geological units of the area acting as water bearing formations, to define aquifers parameters and to assess water levels fluctuations in different aquifer types. The methods applied for this study including, remote sensing, GIS and hydrogeological investigations, to assess the groundwater potentiality in the study area. The main geological units in the study area include the old Precambrian Basement Complex and Pleistocene to Recent Alluvial sediments. The width of alluvial aquifer ranges between 800m and 2400m, and it covers a total area of about 36,965 km2, the thickness of these deposits ranges between 5 and 25 m. The groundwater showed continuous declination due to over-exploitation of the aquifers, while seasonal variation referred to annual aquifer’s recharge and discharge. The transmissivity for the alluvial aquifers and basement rocks varies between 2.9 m2/d to 33.4 m2/d with average of 18.2 m2/d and from 4.8 m2/d to 20.4 m2/d through the fracture’s zones with average of 12 m2/d. The specific yield ranges between 6% and 28% in alluvial deposits and between 1.1% to 4.0%.in basement rocks.