Browsing Research Articles (Earth Sciences) by Issue Date
Now showing items 1-20 of 273
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A three-tier approach to protect groundwater resources in South Africa
(Water Research Commission, 1995)The quality of groundwater is affected by many activities occurring on the surface of the earth. A pro-active protection approach is required to avoid the costly and technology difficult exercise of groundwater remediation. ... -
Borehole dilution experiment in a Karoo aquifer in Bloemfontein
(Water Research Commission, 1997)This paper shows that a borehole dilution experiment using common salt is a useful technique for better understanding of some hydrogeological features of a fractured aquifer. A sense of such tracer experiments was performed ... -
A water balance approach to the sustainable management of groundwater in South Africa
(Water Research Commission, 2000)The water balance approach, based on the principles of conservation of mass, is applied to the issue of sustainable groundwater management in South Africa, incorporating the ethos of the National Water Act of 1998, ... -
Estimation of recharge using a revised CRD method
(Water Research Commission, 2001)The cumulative rainfall departure (CRD) method, based on the water-balance principle, is often used for mimicking of water level fluctuations. Because of its simplicity and minimal requirement of spatial data, the CRD ... -
A hydrogeomorphological approach to quantification of groundwater discharge to streams in South Africa
(Water Research Commission, 2002)In South Africa, the flow requirements for maintaining the normal functioning of aquatic ecosystems is termed the “ecological reserve”, and these should be determined when a licence application for water allocation is ... -
Capture zone simulation for boreholes located in fractured dykes using the linesink concept
(Water Research Commission, 2002)Delineation of capture zones for groundwater source protection is normally performed by using numerical codes which are based on the porous medium flow equation. However, boreholes are often sited in or along permeable ... -
Snow impact on groundwater recharge in Table Mountain Group aquifer systems with a case study of the Kommissiekraal River catchment South Africa
(Water Research Commission, 2005)Snowmelt in the mountainous areas of the Table Mountain Group (TMG) in South Africa is believed to be one of sources of groundwater recharge in some winter seasons. This paper provides a scientific assessment of snow ... -
A tensor approach to the estimation of hydraulic conductivities in Table Mountain Group aquifers of South Africa
(Water Research Commission, 2006)Based on the field measurements of the physical properties of fractured rocks, the anisotropic properties of hydraulic conductivity (HC) of the fractured rock aquifer can be assessed and presented using a tensor approach ... -
Sustainable groundwater use, the capture principle, and adaptive management
(Water Research Commission, 2006)The purpose of this paper is to review the case for using ‘capture’ rather than recharge as the conceptual basis for sustainable groundwater use in South Africa. Capture refers to the sum of the increase in recharge and ... -
Conservation status of large branchiopods in the Western Cape, South Africa
(Springer Verlag, 2007)Temporary wetlands are an ecologically and economically important habitat in South Africa. They harbor large branchiopods, known to be flagship species of nonpermanent aquatic habitats, and sensitive to land use changes. ... -
Groundwater discharges to aquatic ecosystems associated with the Table Mountain Group (TMG) aquifer: a conceptual model
(Water Research Commission, 2008)This paper reports on a conceptual model that was developed to describe the different groundwater discharge ‘types’ from the Table Mountain Group (TMG) aquifer, that contributes to the different components of the flow ... -
Groundwater management issues in Southern Africa – An IWRM perspective
(Water Research Commission, 2008)In contrast to its strategic role as essential resource to help achieve community development and poverty alleviation in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), groundwater has remained a poorly understood and ... -
Editor’s message: Building capacity and partnerships towards sustainable utilization of groundwater in Africa
(Springer, 2008)This Editor’s Message advises the international groundwater fraternity of new opportunities in hydrogeological developments in Africa. It is a fact that groundwater plays a vital role in socio-economic and ecological ... -
The role of ground water in Sub-Saharan Africa
(Wiley-Blackwell, 2010)Although water resources managers speak of a water crisis in Africa, the management of ground water has to date not featured strongly in national and regional African water agendas. Examination of the physical environment of ... -
Foreword to special section: groundwater in Africa
(Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) -
Investigating changes over time of annual rainfall in Zimbabwe
(Copernicus Publications, 2010)There is increasing concern in southern Africa about the possible decline of rainfall as a result of global warming. Some studies concluded that average rainfall in Zimbabwe had declined by 10% or 100 mm during the ... -
A conceptual model for the development and management of the Cape Flats aquifer, South Africa
(Water Research Commission, 2010)This paper provides an integrated approach to the analysis of the geological, hydrological and hydrogeological characteristics of the Cape Flats: a coastal plain sand formed within the mountains of the Cape Town metropolitan ... -
Book review: estimating groundwater recharge
(Springer Verlag, 2011) -
Review: groundwater management and groundwater/surface-water interaction in the context of South African water policy
(Springer Verlag, 2011)Groundwater/surface-water interaction is receiv¬ing increasing focus in Africa due to its importance to ecologic systems and sustainability. In South Africa's 1998 National Water Act (NWA), water-use licenses, including ... -
Book review: urban geology
(Springer Verlag, 2012)