The Relationship Between Lineaments And Fractures In Chad Basin

One of the problems facing drought stricken parts of the world is the location of potable<br>sources of water. The apparent increase in global temperature is also of great concern in<br>those areas that are thirsty and as a result any available source of water needs to be<br>monitored and understood for management purposes. Recent studies in the drought striken<br>Sahel region (especially Chad Basin) indicate the presence of fractures within and near<br>Lake Chad. This paper looks at the use of geophysics to determine a fracture near the lake<br>shore and how this might be related to geochemical water quality of the region.<br>In the summer of 1991, a transect twenty kilometers in length was chosen perpendicular<br>to a lineament that was inferred from Landsat images. This was mapped using electrical<br>resistivity method (using Strata Scout and ABEM Terrameter) that utilized both the<br>Wenner and Schlumberger arrays for both sounding and profiling. The profile shows a<br>number of minor anomalies with a major anomaly that corresponds to the fracture that<br>was mapped from the Landsat images. There is no topographic feature that corresponds to<br>the anomaly or lineament in the field. Water samples were also collected in the field to see<br>the influence of the fracture on the water quality of the region.