There has been a lot of press recently about the discovery by Boston University's Center for Remote Sensing of a large lake, about the size of Massachusetts, in Darfur. This has given way to euphoria over the belief that all this water could mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
Before we pat ourselves on the back, let's do a little reality check.
1) Dr. Farouk El-Baz's team did not discover a lake, they found the contours of a lake basin (see blue-green area in the above photo labeled "Northern Darfur Megalake") that presumably held surface water in the past when the region was wetter. The satellite radar data produced signatures similar to those noted in the East Uweinat basin (also discovered by El- Baz) in southwestern Egypt, so it is logical to assume that the Darfur radar data indicate a similar feature. In the East Uweinat basin, hundreds of wells now irrigate about 150,000 acres (about 61,000 hectares) of crops.
2) From (1) above, it's logical to assume that since the lake is no longer there, some of the water it once held infiltrated downward to fill the pores of the sandstone (presumably) underlying the region, producing a substantial subsurface water body from which water can be extracted by wells.
3) Satellite data, as with all remotely-sensed data, need ground truthing. Until wells are drilled into the rocks beneath the basin, we will not know for sure whether underground water is present, how much there is, how much can be extracted by wells, and how long it will last.
4) If underground water is present, what is its quality? Will it be potable water, or suitable for irrigated agriculture? Will the land be suitable for irrigated agriculture?
5) Let's assume that lots of good-quality underground water does exist. Who will control access to it? How will it be used? Who will pay to maintain it? Will the Sudanese government insist on large-scale irrigated agriculture development as Egypt opted for in the East Uweinat basin, a practice that would be foreign to many of the Darfur people? The water could just as easily be used to subjugate the people as to liberate them. Given Khartoum's track record in Darfur, it stretches the imagination to think that the water would be used beneficently. And let's not forget that water is not the only issue in Darfur. It's more complicated than than; read Lydia Polgreen's article, "A Godsend for Darfur, or a Curse?", in the 22 July 2007 issue New York Times.
Here is the BU news release.
But first, let's find the water.
"Scientists have odious manners, except when you prop up their theories; then you can borrow money from them." -- Mark Twain
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