Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)
Author: Chika Vincent Okorocha, Stephen Olushola Oladosu, Raphael Ehigiator -Irughe

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.01.2023.21.31

Well-log data from four wells located in Northern Depobelt in the Niger Delta were used for the interpretation of Thermal properties, burial history, and subsidence rate, using Petromod and Excel softwares. The geothermal gradients in wells -1, -2, -3 and -4 are 1.247oC/100m, 1.792oC/100m, 2.232oC/100m and 1.862oC/100m respectively, based on an average surface temperature of 27°C. The average geothermal gradient 1.767oC/100m for the field of study. Thermal conductivity values were highly variable with depth with values of 2.36Wm-1K-1, 2.27Wm-1K-1, 2.35Wm-1K-1, and 2.55Wm-1K-1for Wells 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The heat flux obtained for the wells are accordingly 30.73mWm-2, 40.57mWm-2, 50.53mWm-2, and 42.19mWm-2. There was the general trend of the massive sandstones in the upper layers, characteristics of the Benin formation into an alternation of both sandstone and shales characteristic of the Agbada formation, followed by an increase in shale percentage down the series. The bottom of the Benin/top of Agbada boundaries for the four wells are about 1524.0m, 1066.8m, 1981.2m and 1371.6m for Wells 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The burial gradient decreases with age. Rapid subsidence episode took place between the Middle Pliocene at 3.5Ma which lasted till the Early-Pleistocene creating accommodation for the deposition of sediments with an average thickness of 1066.57m.

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)
Author: Chika Vincent Okorocha, Stephen Olushola Oladosu, Raphael Ehigiator -Irughe

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.01.2023.11.20

This research employs a regression model to verify the accuracy of the Sacredion Tersus GeoBee30 CORS in real-time kinematic mode. This verification process entails utilizing differential correction broadcasted through the internet protocol (NTRIP) to the GNSS rover. Given Nigeria’s current demand for additional CORS to enhance geospatial services, the primary objective of this study is to determine the strength of signal coverage, which is crucial for strategically locating appropriate or estimated location for the installation of new CORS. The methodology involves conducting an independent observation session at 5 minutes on 14 temporary points, away from the CORS base. The analysis, carried out using one-way ANOVA, establishes the fact that the RTK observations referenced to the CORS exhibit high precision. Furthermore, the development of a linear regression model yields a robust positive correlation, underscoring the dependable link between the investigated RMS error and the observed distances (RMSE = 0.988; R-square = 0.977; adjusted R-square = 0.976) within the distance range of 75 km target, extended to 120 km by prediction. The rms values of 0.0093 m were discovered in both cases while testing the efficacy of the prediction model on two known ground controls within the study area. In conclusion, this study unequivocally confirms the accuracy of the CORS, thereby endorsing its suitability for tasks involving mapping and geomatics activities, not only within the verified 70-km range but also beyond it. There exist a linear relationship between the distance coverage and the RMS error in relative positioning to the CORS at 95% confidence interval (α = 0.05 significant value). However, we do not have enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis outrightly.

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)
Author: Lawson Ikoma D, Balogun Ayomide O

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.01.2023.01.10

Seismic attributes are very useful tools for reservoir characterization and prospect evaluation because they enhance visibility of features that are below the resolution of seismic data. This study utilized seismic attributes such as maximum amplitude, root mean square (RMS), average energy and sweetness for prospect, identification and evaluation in W-Field, onshore Niger Delta using seismic and well data. Three reservoirs were identified (A, B, C) and reservoir C was selected after thorough scrutiny of available well logs, sand thickness and hydrocarbon presence. Faults were enhanced using variance attribute and the result shows that closures on reservoir C surface are associated with collapsed crestal structures bounded by major faults responsible for hydrocarbon trap formation. The RMS and maximum amplitude attribute results shows the higher the RMS value, the brighter the amplitude anomalies, which coincide with the distribution of hydrocarbons in the reservoir and supported by Average energy interpretations. However, the anomalies are brighter and sharper using the Average energy seismic attribute. The result shows moderate to high sweetness zone (sweet spots) reveals bright amplitude anomalies within the zone of interest, indicating high amplitudes and low frequency of hydrocarbon bearing sand zone. Similarly, multitrace coblending (sweetness + variance) conducted on seismic volumes reveals that there is no significant difference in structure and bright amplitude anomalies with those recognized using the surface attributes. Seismic attributes offer complimentary tools to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize stratigraphic and structural features in a field, especially those features below the resolution of seismic data.

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)
Author: Collins Okrah, Emmanuel K. Appiah-Adjei, William A. Agyekum

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.02.2022.53.59

Groundwater is an important source of drinking water for many people in sub-Saharan Africa due to its generally suitable quality. The Vea catchment of north-east Ghana is well known for its high reliance on groundwater for domestic use. The major livelihood of the indigenes is agriculture, which is severely affected by the seasonal long dry spell during harmattan. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compute the aquifer characteristics to aid assessment of the storage potential for other uses such as irrigation in the catchment using the pumping test method. Pumping and recovery test data on 77 boreholes are used to determine the aquifer properties. The results indicated that transmissivity (T) and specific capacity (Sc) were within the ranges of 0.42–60.8 m2/d and 2–70 m3/d/m, respectively. The T and Sc are linearly related with a coefficient of determination, R2, of 0.85. The area has a specific yield of about 0.06% and a storage coefficient in the order of 10-7–10-3. The shallow aquifer system (below 50 m deep) and the fractured aquifer system have mean safe yields of 138 m3/d and 345 m3/d, respectively. Thus, the groundwater potential can support other uses such as small-scale irrigation apart from drinking. The results of the study could be used as a guide for managing groundwater resources in arid and semi-arid areas. Through careful planning of groundwater withdrawals for irrigation and other uses for the socioeconomic development of the people, this will help improve water security resilience in the catchment.

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)
Author: Ayesha Sikandar, Iqra Nasir

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.02.2022.47.52

Satellite remote sensing and geographic information system are those technologies that have been proved highly productive in the monitoring of anthropogenic activities and in the development of databases that allows monitoring of wetlands and other protected areas in a systematic way. The Remote Sensing techniques also provides solution to the accessibility problems. The province of Sindh is comprised of many wetlands of which Manchar and Keenjhar Lakes has been studied. Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS satellite images were acquired for the year 2013 and 2021 respectively and different spectral indices like NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index) were investigated. NDWI and NDVI is showing a positive correlation as the values of Pearson correlation “r” is almost near to 1. The NDVI value for both lakes in 2013 was high which is showing dense vegetation covers but on the other hand the NDVI values declines showing sparse vegetation in 2021 which is alarming. The NDWI values for both the lakes were below the threshold level. The main purpose of carrying out this study is to calculate and detect Vegetation covers and level of water stress in the lakes which was not found to be satisfactory as a lot of regions of Sindh in 2021 were facing drought conditions because of less precipitation and shortage of water in rivers. The study proved to be effective in demonstrating the use of satellite remote sensing techniques for wetland monitoring.

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)
Author: Oluwaseye P. Oyetade, Kehinde I. Adebayo, Ebenezer A. Kudamnya

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.02.2022.40.46

Clay is predominant in most subgrade soils of Nigeria and it has found wide application in engineering construction due to its relative abundance coupled with the ease of acquisition. Therefore, there is the need to ascertain the geotechnical behaviour of these clays especially the Gerinya clays within the Patti Formation, Southern Bida Basin, Nigeria for their construction and industrial suitability. The Gerinya clays samples were examined for their geotechnical properties such as; specific gravity, Atterberg’s limit, grain size analysis, shear strength and mineralogical analysis (X-ray diffraction (XRD)). The Gerinya clays liquid limit ranges from 46% to 56%, the plastic limit ranges from 16.95% to 29.10% and the plasticity index ranges from 20.20% to 35.40%. The specific gravity ranges from 2.55 to 2.70, while the angle of internal friction and cohesion ranges from 130 to 200 and 31 KPa to 48 KPa respectively. Kaolinite was identified as the clay mineral in the Gerinya clays ranging from 22.34 to 67.61 wt% and quartz is the dominant non-clay mineral in the Gerinya clays. The other non-clay minerals are muscovite, anatase and rutile. The Gerinya clays samples exhibit intermediate to high compressibility and medium to high plasticity. The shear strength reveals that the Gerinya clays has a low bearing capacity. The Gerinya clays are not suitable for construction since they will cause problems when employed as sub-base or sub-grade materials. However, the clays can be employed as raw materials for bricks manufacturing and landfill liners in a waste disposal facility.

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)
Author: Konwea, C. I., Olorunfemi H. K., Ajayi, O.

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.02.2022.35.39

The performance of 129 boreholes constructed as groundwater intervention projects by governmental and non-governmental agencies in Ife Central Local Government Area, Osun State, Southwestern Nigeria was assessed to appraise the effectiveness of the projects. Out of the eighty-seven (87) boreholes constructed by Government (Federal, State and Local), 51 boreholes (59%) were functional, while 36 boreholes (41%) were non-functional. Twenty-nine (29) boreholes constructed by non-governmental agencies recorded 66% success and 34% failure. Thirteen (13) boreholes constructed by unidentified agencies recorded 8% success and 92% failure. Pump failure, poor maintenance, stolen pump and unidentified causes contributed 36%, 16%, 7% and 41%, respectively to the 45% failure of the boreholes. The groundwater intervention projects are not very effective as only 55% of the 129 boreholes investigated were functional while 45% were non-functional. Borehole maintenance by both the agencies and beneficiaries, and availability of spare parts for the groundwater supply facilities were recommended.

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)
Author: Thomas A Harry , Ifiok U. Etim, Camillus E. Etim

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.01.2022.24.28

The paleodepositional environment and age of sedimentary outcrops along Lemna Road, northeast of Calabar Town, Cross River State, were determined using sedimentological and palynological studies. The sediments are primarily made up of sand gravel, carbonaceous shale with plant roots, and clays. Sedimentological and Palynological analyses were performed with the goal of determining the textural properties, age, and depositional environment of the sediments. Graphic mean grain sizes, sorting, skewness, and kurtosis are the grain size factors. Sorting of coarse-grained sediments deposited in a river setting was low to extremely poor as a result of graphic mean estimated coarse-grained sediments. The overall skewness is well formed, with a platykurtic kurtosis. Scatter plots of the coefficient of flatness vs sphericity and sphericity versus the oblate-prolate index show that pebbles formed in a highly energetic system (beach). According to the results of pebble morphometric indices, the sandstones are in an extremely energetic (beach) environment. Bivariate plots of sand textural metrics including graphical skewness vs graphical standard deviation and second moment skewness versus second moment standard deviation confirmed the high intensity (beach) origin of the sandstones. In the palynological analysis it was observed that there was absence of foraminifera’s while index taxa such as Magnstriatites howardii, Zonocostites ramonae, Verrucatosporitea lienus and Psilatricolporites sp. Were identified inferring early to late Miocene in age of sediments exposed in the study area.

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)
Author: Star Otitie Umayah

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.01.2022.15.23

The goal of this research is to use vertical electrical sounding to analyze the underlying lithological layers of Orerokpe, Delta State, Nigeria. The Schlumberger configuration with a maximum electrode spacing of 200 m was used in 15 VES surveys for the investigation. The data were acquired using ABEM SAS 4000 Terrameter and processed using the WINRESIST program. The data collected were analyzed and interpreted in both qualitative and quantitative terms. Distribution of the resistivity values at different depths are represented by iso-resistivity and electrical profile maps for different electrode spacing, AB at 2 m, 3 m, 4 m, 6 m, 6m (repeated), 9 m, 12m, 15m, 15m (repeated), 20m, 25m, 32m, 40m, 40m (repeated), and 50 m respectively. Results obtained from the study area revealed that geoelectric layers range from 3 to 4. Further findings from the study revealed that the iso-resistivity plot of AB/2 at various depths, it was observed that the area is predominantly underlain with coarse, medium, and fine sand as AB/2 increases.

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG)
Author: Ezeonuogu A Happiness, Tamunobereton-ari Iyenomie, Amechi Bright

This is an open access journal distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.02.2022.29.34

Corrosivity of underground pipeline as a function of lithology and pore fluid in parts of Rivers State, Nigeria was investigated using Wenner array configuration or technique of Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES). A total of six VES were conducted at three locations within Rivers State, the study area and they are Obrikom, Dutch Island and Akpajo each having two VES points. The VES data were collected using ABEM terrameter SAS 300B processed and interpreted using ROCK-WOKS 2017 software and Microsoft excel spread sheet. The apparent resistivity values range from 10Ωm to 200Ωm depicting high corrosivity and indicating that some parts in the study area are likely to be corrosive, increasing the chances of pipeline corrosion (failure) which may result to oil spillage around such areas in the nearest future. Some other parts have negligible apparent resistivity ranging from 200Ωm and above. The Wenner array method used has been proven to be safer, efficient, quick and economical for detecting corrosivity along buried pipelines. The designated corrosivity status of each area were determined by lithology of the area and their resistivity. The knowledge of this study can be applied in the improvement of transmission pipe1ine integrity and reliabi1ity practice, by detecting pipeline damage at ear1y stage as well as oil spillage control and pollutions in areas where underground pipelines are laid.