Extractable and total Fe and Mn contents of three sand dune soils in NW Nigeria

The profile distribution of total, diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA)- and 0·1 HCl-extractable Fe and Mn were determined in 12 pedons formed on three contiguous sand dunes in the semi-arid savanna of Nigeria. The total Fe and Mn contents varied from 100 to 3750 and 40 to 11,375 μg g⁻¹, respectively. Values of 0·1 HCl-extractable Fe and Mn varied from 8·0 to 123 and 1·5 to 43·5 μg g⁻¹, respectively. The corresponding values of DTPA-extractable Fe and Mn were 4·5 to 16·0 and 1·0 to 38·8 μg g⁻¹. Total Fe and Mn correlated significantly with clay in nearly all the dunes (p≤ 0·01) but were not significantly correlated with organic matter. The 0·1 HCl-extractable Mn had a positive significant correlation with soil pH (r= 0·58*) in Illela dunes but a negative significant correlation with pH in the Sangiwa dunes (r= −0·75***). The values of extractable Fe and Mn in the sand dune soils are above the critical limits reported in other literature, thus deficiencies of these micronutrients do not pose a problem to crop production in the study area.     

Geotechnical characterisation of Obudu damsite, Obudu, south-eastern Nigeria

The Obudu dam is being built across Abeb river in Obudu area of the Cross River State (Nigeria). The earthfill dam will be approximately 18 m high with a crest length of 385 m. The dam site is located within part of the Obudu crystalline basement plateau which is a region of low seismicity. The terrain is smoothly undulating and low lying and was known to be composed of unclassified basement and decomposed bedrock (overburden). The present study was carried out to assess the suitability of the chosen dam axis based on the determination of the nature and geotechnical characteristics of the overburden and bedrock. The investigation included geophysical surveys, bearing capacity tests (cone penetrometer and standard penetration), classification and grain size distribution as well as tests for compaction, consolidation and compressive strength. The results show that the bedrock is heterogeneous, including gneisses sillimanite, biotite and granite types), dolerite, quartzite and pegmatite with an overall moderate strength (about 76.04 MN m⁻² average) and fair rock mass rating (RMR). The bedrock along the dam axis is apparently lacking in major fractures which could lead to short circuiting of the future impoundment. The overburden (soil) comprises silt (MH, ML), silty clay (CL) and silty sand (SM) with a combined thickness of about 2–20 m, increasing away from the valley floor towards the shoulders. Generally the overburden is of suitable compressive strength (150–300 KN m⁻²), low to medium plasticity and swelling potential and low permeability (up to 1.41 × 10⁻⁷ ms⁻¹) which would ensure a tight reservoir. The material settlement is expected to be small and slow. Accordingly, excavation of up to 5 m, decreasing towards the valley shoulders has been suggested to expose the recommended bearing medium: fresh/competent bedrock and overburden in the valley floor and flanks, respectively. While a detailed investigation of burrow areas was not part of the present study, a few potential sites in the dam axis and reservoir areas have been suggested based on the evaluation of material properties.     

Late Pleistocene vertebrate-bearing deposits at San Teodoro Cave (North-Eastern Sicily): Preliminary data on faunal diversification and chronology

This paper deals with the chronology and the possible correlations among levels of different excavated areas in the Pleistocene vertebrate-bearing deposits at the large San Teodoro Cave (North-Eastern Sicily). Two trenches have been excavated along the eastern side of the cave, located at a distance from the entrance, respectively, of 8 m (α trench) and 28 m (β trench) and at different depths. Lithological features, biometrical data from small mammals and ecological data from molluscs point to similar environmental conditions for the α trench deposits and those located along the eastern wall of the cave in the eastern part of the β trench. The same evidence, and the taphonomic features of large mammals, points to different environmental conditions and perhaps to different ages for the deposits located in the western part of the β trench. The survival of elephants in Sicily up to 32,000 years ago is a new significant result of the ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U dating carried out from a concretionary stratum from the β trench and represents the youngest elephant survival in the western Mediterranean islands.     

Application of remote-sensing data to groundwater exploration: A case study of the Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria

 The Cross River State, Nigeria, is underlain by the Precambrian-age crystalline basement complex and by rocks of Cretaceous to Tertiary age. The exploration for groundwater in this area requires a systematic technique in order to obtain optimum results, but the non-availability of funds and facilities has made it extremely difficult to carry out site investigations prior to the drilling of water wells. Therefore, the failure rate is as high as 80%. In order to delineate areas that are expected to be suitable for future groundwater development, black and white radar imagery and aerial photographs were used to define some hydrological and hydrogeological features in parts of the study area. Lineament and drainage patterns were analysed using length density and frequency. Lineament-length density ranges from 0.04–1.52; lineament frequency is 0.11–5.09; drainage-length density is 0.17–0.94, and the drainage frequency is 0.16–1.53. These range of values reflect the differences in the probability of groundwater potentials. Results were then used to delineate areas of high, medium, and low groundwater potential. Study results also indicate that correlations exist between lineament and drainage patterns, lithology, water temperature, water conductivity, well yield, transmissivity, longitudinal conductance, and the occurrence of groundwater. Received, August 1994 · Revised, March 1996, June 1996 · Accepted, October 1996     

A study of some Nigerian carbonate rocks for the building construction industry

A number of geotechnical analyses were carried out on selected carbonate rock samples from ten locations in Nigeria. This was to assess the suitability of these rocks as building construction aggregates. The analyses included uniaxial compressive strength, tensile strength porosity, water absorption and dynamic fragmentation.

Evaluation of these carbonate rocks on the basis of a quality index (QI) scheme show that some lithofacies (i.e., calcareous siltstone, pisolitic limestone, marly limestone, massive limestone, sandy limestone, oncolitic limestone and fossiliferous limestone) which were obtained from Abini, Ashaka, Calabar Ikom road, Ikot Okpora, Mfamosing and Nkalagu are the best for construction purposes. However, it is recommended that the susceptibility of each deposit to solution should be investigated.     

The occurrence of the genus Tanousia Servain (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Hydrobiidae) in the Middle Pleistocene Piànico-Sèllere Basin (Bergamo, Northern Italy)

The occurrence of the freshwater genus Tanousia Servain 1881 (Hydrobiidae) in the Middle Pleistocene lacustrine succession of the Piànico-Sèllere Basin (Bergamo, Northern Italy) represents a significant biostratigraphical discovery. The Tanousia were recovered from the basal part of the carbonate varved bed (BVC), in siltysandy slump sediments, and from the lower and middle parts of the La Palazzina Member (MLP) of the Piànico formation. The BVC unit, in which a dated tephra layer occurs, accumulated during an interglacial phase, as shown by pollen analyses. The MLP Tanousia-bearing layers have been laid down during cool–temperate climate oscillation. The Piànico population of Tanousia displays great morphological variability but is similar to T. runtoniana (Sandberger, 1880), T. stenostoma (Nordmann, 1901) and T. cf. T. stenostoma (Nordmann, 1901), from the Bavelian and Cromerian interglacial deposits of late Early and early Middle Pleistocene age in Northern Europe. As for these species, the Tanousia population from Piànico appears to indicate fluvial conditions under a fully temperate climate.