Masters Theses

Abstract

“Namaqualand is an arid to semi-arid region of approximately 200 square kilometres along the northwestern coast of South Africa. Fresh water is very scarce in this region, and efforts are being made to find more potable water for the increasing population of people and livestock, and increasing irrigational needs. The only feasible solution appears to be the exploitation of groundwater, and the local municipalities need to find the optimum areas to drill water wells. There is plenty of available groundwater at depth, but this water is much too saline for the area’s needs. Groundwater in the shallow subsurface tends to be slightly saline, but potable, but this water is not widely abundant.

The objective of this study was to determine porous zones with high permeability in the shallow subsurface where groundwater was tending to flow, such as faults, geologic contacts, or buried stream channels. Several geophysical methods were employed to do this, but the majority of useful information was obtained from the electromagnetic induction techniques.

Geophysical data were collected at seven sites in the region. Most of these sites were selected on the basis of their proximity to water wells producing from the shallow subsurface. By obtaining data from sites where there was known usable water, it was hoped that telltale signatures of the water at these sites would help to characterise unknown areas. These data were collected during both the wet and dry seasons at some of the sites, in order to gain a better understanding of the seasonal groundwater behaviour.

At the sites in which faults were present, groundwater was preferentially flowing through the fault zone. At the sites where faults were not present, the groundwater appeared to be flowing through a channel. This feature was associated with the paleo- stream channels that were known to exist in some of the areas. From this information, positions can be determined for drilling that will yield the most water”--Abstract, page iii-iv.

Advisor(s)

Anderson, Neil L. (Neil Lennart), 1954-

Committee Member(s)

Cardimona, Steven James, 1963-
Cawlfield, Jeffrey D.

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Degree Name

M.S. in Geology and Geophysics

Publisher

University of Missouri--Rolla

Publication Date

Spring 2001

Pagination

x, 58 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 56-57).

Geographic Coverage

Namaqualand, South Africa

Rights

© 2001 Jeremy Scott Strohmeyer, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Thesis Number

T 7908

Print OCLC #

47769718

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