Posted on 03/29/2007 1:33:28 PM PDT by blam
Space Data Unveils Evidence of Ancient Mega-lake in Northern Darfur
Researchers at the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing used recently acquired topographic data from satellites to reveal a now dry, ancient mega-lake in the Darfur province of northwestern Sudan. Drs. Eman Ghoneim and Farouk El-Baz made the finding while investigating Landsat images and Radarsat data. Radar waves are able to penetrate the fine-grained sand cover in the hot and dry eastern Sahara to reveal buried features. Segments of the lake’s shoreline were identified at the constant altitude of 573 ± 3 meters above sea level. Ghoneim incorporated these segments with the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data into a Geographical Information System to reconstruct the lake and the ancient river courses that led to it. At its maximum extent, the lake occupied an area of about 30,750 km2 (larger than the area of Massachusetts) and would have contained approximately 2,530 km3 when full of water in the past.
The researchers made no inferences regarding the age of the lake; however, its vast extent suggests that it existed for a long period of time when rainfall was plentiful in the eastern Sahara.
“Field investigations and samples will determine the exact age of the lake,” said El-Baz, director of the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing. “One thing is certain – much of the lake’s water would have seeped through the sandstone substrate to accumulate as groundwater.”
“This ancient lake, which represents indisputable evidence of the past rainy conditions in the eastern Sahara, will have significant consequences for improving our knowledge of continental climate change and regional palaeohydrology,” said Ghoneim.
According to the researchers, mapping the site of the former lake, named the Northern Darfur Mega-lake, will help with groundwater exploration efforts in the Darfur region, where access to fresh water is essential for refugee survival.
As proven by El-Baz in Egypt, just north of Darfur, former lakes in this part of the Sahara are underlain by vast amounts of groundwater. His earlier detection of the “East Uweinat” basin in southwestern Egypt – where the groundwater rises to 25 meters below the surface – resulted in the drilling of 500 wells to irrigate 100,000 acres of agricultural land.
“Such large sedimentary basins have potential not only in groundwater resources, but also oil and gas resources at depth,” said El-Baz.
A paper detailing the discovery will be published in an upcoming issue of the International Journal of Remote Sensing.
The Boston University Center for Remote Sensing is a research facility that was established in 1986. Researchers at the Center apply techniques of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) to research in the fields of archaeology, geography and geology. In 1997, the Center was recognized by NASA as a “Center of Excellence in Remote Sensing.”
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 30,000 students, it is the fourth largest independent university in the United States. BU contains 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes, which are central to the school’s research and teaching mission.
Source: Boston University
...also oil and gas resources at depth..."
Maybe we ought to go help those people in Darfur. (Says Carl Rove, ahem)
Pretty cool.
Global warming dried the lake and it is Bush's fault.
Evil Republicans and their SUVs caused global warming which ended the last Ice Age and dryed up Lake Dafur.
Hey, intellectual giants like Al Gore, Sean Penn and Rosie O'Donnell (and 99% of the mainstream media) told me!
Evolution in Your FaceLake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, is home to more than 300 species of cichlids. These fish, which are popular in aquariums, are deep-bodied and have one nostril, rather than the usual two, on each side of the head. Seismic profiles and cores of the lake taken by a team headed by Thomas C. Johnson of the University of Minnesota, reveal that the lake dried up completely about 12,400 years ago. This means that the rate of speciation of cichlid fishes has been extremely rapid: something on average of one new species every 40 years!
by Patrick Huyghe
Omni
Ancient lakes of the Sahara
Innovations Report | Jan 19, 2006 | University of Reading
Posted on 01/21/2006 4:14:03 AM PST by Tyche
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There is speculation by the pole shift folks that one of the previous north axial poles was the Sudan basin.
I've always been extremely curious about Hudson bay. It's just too darn... circular.
So when will the next crustal shift happen? Maybe that's what 2012 is all about.
My husband keeps Lake Malawi cichlids. I highly reccommend them to anyone who wants colorful fish without the hassle of saltwater. The only downside is he won't let me serve tilapia for dinner anymore. Same fish, apparently :-D
Of course, it only started with cichlids. The dreaded Aquariphilia has now progressed to a second Rainbowfish tank, a third quarantine tank, and a fourth tank for the chip off the old block, because "having his own fish will teach him responsibility". We are rapidly approaching the "Hey, if we put a few tanks in the garage I could start breeding these guys- How soon can I retire?" stage of the disease.
Thanks for the link. This is something I have often wondered about.
Interesting. I won't even make any "Mickey Finn" or "get tanked" puns. ;')
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Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution.12,400 years ago? Hydrologic cycle came to a screeching whoa for some reason, hmm, what could it have been?Evolution in Your FaceLake Victoria, Africa's largest lake, is home to more than 300 species of cichlids. These fish, which are popular in aquariums, are deep-bodied and have one nostril, rather than the usual two, on each side of the head. Seismic profiles and cores of the lake taken by a team headed by Thomas C. Johnson of the University of Minnesota, reveal that the lake dried up completely about 12,400 years ago. This means that the rate of speciation of cichlid fishes has been extremely rapid: something on average of one new species every 40 years! |
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