Browsing by Author "Yiran, G.B."

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Evaluating groundwater recharge processes using stable isotope signatures—the Nabogo catchment of the White Volta, Ghana.
(Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2016-04) Fynn, F.O.; Yidana, S.M.; Chegbeleh, L.P.; Yiran, G.B.
This study evaluates the source and evolution of groundwater in parts of the Nabogo catchment of the White Volta Basin in Ghana. Porewater δ18O and δ2H signatures of vadose zone material were used together with the isotope signatures of rainwater, groundwater, and surface water in the area to suggest an evolutionary model and the mode of fluid fluxes through the unsaturated zone material in the area. This study finds that the local precipitation in the study area presents a relatively isotopically heavier signature compared to the average signature of global meteoric water. This is because the local meteoric water line (LMWL) has shallower slope, intercept, and average deuterium excess values compared to the global meteoric water line (GMWL). On the other hand, the local groundwater in the area presents relatively enriched isotopic signatures. Stable isotope profiles suggest piston flow as the main mechanism of vertical water movement in the vadose zone, indicating that direct groundwater recharge from local precipitation is principally based on this mechanism of transport. There is a progressive decline in the deuterium excess data of porewater vertically down the soil profile. This observation is consistent with an evolutionary pattern caused by fractionation processes attending evaporation of infiltrating water. Mineral-weathering processes have not been noted to have an effect on the isotopic signature of groundwater in the area. However, there appears to be a significant impact of evaporation on the total dissolved solid content of surface water in the area. In the case of groundwater, field-measured electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDSs), and pH are, respectively, in the ranges of 30–2407 μS/cm, 15–1196 mg/L, and 5.35–8.36. The EC, TDS, and pH are, respectively, in the ranges of 30–139 μS/cm, 15–70 mg/L, and 6.52–8.66 in surface water in the area
Groundwater Evolution in the Voltaian Basin, Ghana – An application of multivariate statistical analyses to hydrochemical data
(Science Research, 2011) Yidana, S.M.; Yiran, G.B.; Sakyi, P.A.; Nude, P.M.; Banoeng-Yakubo, B.
Multivariate statistical methods were applied to hydrochemical data obtained from various field sampling campaigns in order to highlight the major groundwater types and the evolution of groundwater from recharge areas to discharge areas in the groundwater flow regime. Q-mode hierarchical cluster analysis distinguished four major hydrochemical types: Ca-HCO low salinity fresh groundwater in the south of the basin, through Na-HCO3 fresh low to intermediate salinity groundwater types, to saline-brackish Na-Cl groundwater types in the north of the basin. The concentrations of the major hydrochemical parameters also increase from south to north, suggesting that groundwater evolves from apparent recharge areas in the south to saline-brackish Na-Cl groundwater types in the north. On the basis of the observed variation in the hydrochemical data, this study hypothesizes that the southern parts of the basin are the major recharge areas in the basin, whereas the northern sections are discharge locations in the groundwater flow regime. R-mode factor analysis was then applied to the data to differentiate the various factors responsible for the observed hydrochemical variations. Four factors were distinguished: dissolution of chlorides of the major ions, silicate mineral weathering and organic matter oxidation, dissolution of kieserite group of minerals, and anthropogenic contamination. Of all these factors, silicate mineral weathering is the most pervasive throughout the study area. This is apparently due to the presence of silicate minerals almost everywhere in the terrain. This analysis was determined by means of factor scores computed from the factor loadings and the standardized dataset through regression. The resulting refined factor scores were then interpolated by ordinary kriging. The dissolution of the chlorides and kieserite group of minerals are limited to locations where such minerals are present in the lithology. Anthropogenic contamination of the aquifers occurs almost everywhere within the basin but the effects are generally low.
Socio-economic and Environmental Impacts of Mining within the Catchment Area of Mining Companies at Tarkwa
(Ghana Social Science Journal, 2013) Kusimi, B.A.; Kusimi, J.M.; Yiran, G.B.
Studies on the impact of mining on socio-economic activities, health and the environment were undertaken within the catchment of three multinational mining companies at Tarkwa in the Western Region of Ghana. This evaluation was done through questionnaire surveys, interviews, focus group discussions and a review of monitoring reports of statutory institutions and existing environmental management regulatory systems/policies in the country. The study found out that mining companies have provided some social, health and educational facilities in communities within their catchment. Nonetheless, mining has resulted in increased air and water pollution, land displacement, poverty and diseases. This situation has arisen due to certain weaknesses in the institutional and regulatory frameworks governing the mining industry. These include inadequate capacity in human and material resources of statutory institutions to enforce legislation, the confidentiality of environmental audit reports, and the low participation of communities in environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes.
Who wins the 2008 Ghana presidential elections? GIS options and lessons from exploring the 2000 and 2004 voting patterns in the Greater Accra Region
(Faculty of Social Science, University of Ghana, 2010) Kufogbe, S.K.; Jayson-Quashigah, P-N.; Yiran, G.B.
This study used GIS as an analytical tool to study the voting outcomes of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections in the Greater Accra Region. It shows the patterns that have occurred among the constituencies over the two voting periods between the two major parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). The analysis shows that at both elections, the more rural areas were claimed by the socialist NDC party while the more urban areas were won by the capitalist NPP. The study further revealed the socio-economic cleavages such as income, education and ethnicity that exist between the two parties in the region. From the three constituencies sampled, it was obvious that factors influencing voting patterns varied across space. While in Ada and Ningo-Prapram, party voted was based on affiliation, in Tema West, it was more on other issues such as party policies and qualities of the leader than affiliation. Using GIS mapping tools, strongholds of both parties as well as swing zones which are very strategic for election campaigns were determined