Nuclear Probes Locate Rich Underground Aquifers Beneath Sahel Desert

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Scientists using nuclear technology have mapped and taken samples from five major aquifer and underground water basins shared by 13 nations in the drought-prone Sahel region of Africa, according to a press release from the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"This information is like gold," University of Bangui Isotope Hydrology Laboratory Chief Eric Foto stated in the release on Tuesday. "With it we can tell the government where we have shallow, renewable water to drill wells, where pollution comes from, or how long quality water will last."

The IAEA provided nuclear isotope equipment and training to scientists in each of the 13 nations for the water mapping project, the release explained.

In recent decades, the Sahel region of 135 million people has suffered from extreme drought affecting agriculture and causing widespread hunger, the release noted.

With few rivers, five trans-boundary underground water systems represent the main water supply for the region, which separates the Sahara desert from the rest of Africa, according to the release.