Australia, Guatemala, and Cameroon: Geoscientists Without Borders® Selects Three New Projects for Continued Program Expansion

Tulsa, Oklahoma (PRWEB) April 23, 2014

Geoscientists Without Borders®, the humanitarian program launched by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) six years ago, will sponsor three projects, the first of 2014. The three new projects use modern earth science theory and technology to ameliorate long-standing problems in some of the world's poorest regions. The three projects, which will have a combined funding from the program of $249,500, were approved by the SEG Foundation at its meeting on 26 February 2014.

Two of the newly approved projects address issues related to water in, respectively, the remote island of Milingimbi in the Arafura Sea off the coast of the Northern Territory of Australia, and in Northern Cameroon in Africa. The third project is concerned with predicting activity at the Pacaya volcano in Guatemala that erupted as recently as 2 March this year.

The project in Milingimbi will be headed by Okke Batelaan, Strategic Professor in Hydrogeologyat Flinders University of South Australia, which will provide much of the project's personnel and equipment. The project team also includes the Flinders-based Australian National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training; the Power and Water Corporation; and the University of Adelaide. The basic goal of the project is to improve, using modern geophysical methods, the conceptual model of the island's hydrogeological system with the hope that this model will ultimately result in a more sustainable water supply to an area which depends totally on groundwater and is very susceptible to saltwater intrusion. "The Society of Exploration Geophysicists via its Geoscientists Without Borders Program offers Flinders University an excellent possibility to help the water constrained Aboriginal community of Milingimbi Island, Australia, by geophysical investigations of the groundwater conditions," Professor Okke Batelaan said.

Under the leadership of Jejung Lee, associate professor of geosciences, the project in Cameroon will be performed by the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Other participating organizations are the Research Institute of Development (IRD) - France, University of Ngaoundere (Cameroon), and University of Maiduguri (Nigeria). The fundamental problem in the area is that limited access to clean freshwater has, over the last decade, led to severe outbreaks of cholera. The project will rely upon electromagnetic surveys to characterize a basement rock aquifer which can subsequently be developed into a freshwater well field, leading to significant community health improvement. "Science can help people live in a better and healthy environment. The Geoscientists Without Borders program gives our international team an opportunity to help Cameroonians find cleaner water resources under the threat of contaminated water and following cholera outbreaks. This project will also promote capacity building for a better use of geophysical techniques in the region." – Jejung Lee.

The Guatemala project will focus on one of three active volcanoes in that country and one which has erupted regularly since 1961, often causing the evacuation of several thousand people living in the area. Michigan Technological University will perform the field work under the leadership of principal investigator Professor Thomas Oommen. The main goal is to improve the ability of local organizations in Guatemala to more accurately monitor the activity of the volcano to facilitate early warning and to improve the quality of the information available to local leaders in crisis situations. "In the past, several faculty and students from the department have contributed to the study of volcanic hazard at Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala. However, lack of data and instrumentation at Pacaya has remained as a challenge. This project provides an opportunity to overcome this challenge and acquire geophysical instrumentation to monitor the hazard at Pacaya. These datasets obtained from this instrumentation will be extremely valuable to build the capacity of local emergency agencies, improve our understanding of volcanic hazards at Pacaya, and validate and advance the remote sensing based research carried. This is, undoubtedly, an exciting opportunity. It brings together a multi-disciplinary team of Geological Engineer (Dr. Thomas Oommen, Assistant Professor), Geologist (Dr. Rudiger Escobar-Wolf, Post-doctoral Fellow), and Geophysicist (Dr. Greg Waite, Associate Professor) to study one of the most active volcanoes in the Central America with long history of eruption and edifice collapse/landslide. The activity at Pacaya also poses a great humanitarian need considering that about 9,000 people live less than 5 km from the active cone and were evacuated 11 times in the past 24 years." – Thomas Oommen. Other participating organizations are Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meterolocia e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH), Pacaya Volcano National Park, Centro de Estudios Superiores de Energia y Minsas – San Carlos University, Instituto Geografico Nacional.

Thanks to the passion of donors both corporate and individual, Geoscientists Without Borders has invested $1,600,000 over 20 selected projects in 16 countries. The total value of an individual project is much higher thanks to partnerships and collaborations. Each project has multiple partners and every one involves the local communities or governments to ensure sustainability.

Location / Awarded to / GeoHazard

Completed
India / Clemson University / Water management
Sumatra / Geohazards International / Tsunami resistant Buildings
Thailand / Boise State University / Training/archaeology
South Africa / University of the Witwatersrand / Ground Water
Honduras / Colorado School of Mines / Ground Water
Brazil / University of Houston / Landslides
Australia / University of Adelaide / Water
Sweden / Uppsala University / Quick Clay landslides
Romania / University of Bucharest / Pollution/water & ground

Active
Greece / EuroScience Greek Regional Section / Archaeology
Jamaica / Univ Texas-Austin and Southern Methodist Univ / Earthquake
Haiti / University of Houston / Earthquake
Haiti / University of Kentucky / Earthquake
Nicaragua / Open University / Volcano
West Africa / Boise State University / Water
Australia / University of Adelaide / Endangered Species
Australia / Stanford University / Water

Selected
Australia / Flinders University / Water
Guatemala / Michigan Technological University / Volcano
Cameroon / University of Missouri-Kansas City / Water

About SEG
The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (http://www.seg.org), the international society of applied geophysics, is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the science of geophysics and the education of applied geophysicists. SEG fosters the expert and ethical practice of geophysics in the exploration and development of natural resources, in characterizing the near surface, and in mitigating Earth hazards. The Society, which has 32,000 members in 138 countries, fulfills its mission through its publications, conferences, forums, website, and educational opportunities.

About GWB
GWB was established by the SEG Foundation in 2008 with a US $1 million leadership in­vestment from Schlumberger. Since then, PGS, CGG, Kiwi Energy, Santos, LLC, Global Geophysical, and many other individuals have joined to support the program. Geoscientists Without Borders® is transforming lives around the world by providing humanitarian application of geoscience solutions to global problems by connecting universities and industries with communities in need. Projects include the application of geophysical science, information and technology to improve poor conditions or mitigate dangerous conditions and hazards. For more information on Geoscientists Without Borders®, please visit http://www.seg.org/gwb.

SEG Media Relations
Whitney Emerick
Senior Manager,
Marketing & Communications
918.497.5523
wemerick(at)seg(dot)org

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