GroFutures

Network of African Groundwater Observatories (NAGO)

A central feature of GroFutures is the establishment of a Network of African Groundwater Observatories (NAGO) to promote collection, assimilation and use of groundwater data (Figure 1). The NAGO comprises 3 Basin Observatories in Ethiopia (Upper Awash), Niger and Nigeria (Iullemmeden), and Tanzania (Great Ruaha) along with 4 Site Observatories in Benin, Burkina Faso, South Africa and Uganda.  We distinguish between Basin and Site Observatories on the basis of the type of data available and the nature of the analyses we will conduct. The NAGO will be set up to enable comparative analyses at multiple scales involving sites along topographical transects (Figure 2) that are nested within the Basin Observatories thereby providing a means to ‘scale up’ and generalise from specific sites.

Each Basin Observatory is to consist of an upland to lowland transect of dedicated groundwater monitoring stations that include nested piezometers and soil-moisture probes. In terms of hydrometeorological data, we will primarily reply upon observations from existing stations in each basin. In the Iullemmeden Basin, we will apply direct measurements of ET from existing flux towers to test the estimation of ET using conventional algorithms such as Penman-Monteith. The broad hydrological characteristics of each basin will be characterised using long-term hydrometeorological monitoring.  Constructed piezometer nests and supplementary observations will enable us to tackle key science questions regarding recharge pathways (i.e. focused versus diffuse, role of soil macropores/factures) and role of extreme events (e.g. sub-daily storm events) in generating recharge. Stations will also permit us to conduct detailed site experiments that include the application of Magnetic Resonance Sounding and long-term pumping tests to quantify groundwater storage in situ and trace recharge pathways and groundwater residence times.