Geophysical-laboratory data integration for estimation of groundwater volumetric reserve of a coastal hinterland through optimized interpolation of interconnected geo-pore architecture

Volumetric estimation of groundwater reserve in Akwa Ibom State University main campus, southern Nigeria using surficial resistivity measurements

“…The plot provides a speedy and inexpensive means of estimating aquifer effective porosity from aquifer bulk resistivity obtained from VES data interpretation. The volumetric estimation of groundwater reserve in the study site was made using the SURFER software by multiplying the aquifer area by the thickness represented in Figure 5a to get the total volume Vt of the unconfined aquifer as in George et al (2011George et al ( , 2022a and Ibim et al (2022) . The total volume was thus calculated to be 1.65 x 10 8 m 3 .…”

“…Manual smoothening of the curves was carried out to reveal the cardinal resistivity variation trend in the data. This was attainable by expunging points considered as outliers and determining the average of the ρs values obtained at the crossover points with the dominant trend maintained (George et al, 2017(George et al, , 2022aEkanem et al, 2020Ekanem et al, , 2022a. The curve smoothening was essential to reduce the root mean square errors (RMSE) in the later stage of computer assisted interpretation, which was accomplished in this research by using the WINRESIST computer software (Evans et al, 2015, Ekanem 2021, 2022aUdosen et al, 2023Udosen et al, , 2024c.…”

“…Aquifers are large stores of groundwater on which the world population depends for their everyday lives. The term 'groundwater reserve' refers to the amount of underground water that is stored in the aquifers and constitutes part of the hydrological cycle (George et al, 2014(George et al, , 2022a. The volume of groundwater reserve in a given area depends on some dynamic rock properties, which include porosity, permeability, pore geometry, hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, specific yield and retentive capacity (Ekanem et al, 2022a(Ekanem et al, , b, 2024.…”

“…Groundwater reserve estimation is significant for the development and efficient utilization of groundwater resources to ensure adequate clean water supply for the world's rapid growing population (George et al, 2011(George et al, , 2022aMondal andAjaykumar, 2022, Ibim et al, 2022). The increasing universal reliance on groundwater resource over the years has deepened concerns about its quality and continuous availability in sufficient quantities to meet human domestic, agricultural and other needs.…”

Groundwater occurrence and flow in varying geological formations

“…Meanwhile, the basement complex depicts rocks underlying the sedimentary rocks which are characterized with weathered and jointed or fractured or sheared or faulted columns [6,20]. Groundwater could be explored within the sedimentary formation where its quest is less difficult to achieve and also at the basement complex where its quest is difficult to manage [9].…”