Hidden water: A map of Darfur, Sudan.
Credit: Wikipedia
WASHINGTON: The recent discovery of an enormous underground lake in Sudan could spell an end to four years of conflict, say geologists.
More than 200,000 people have been killed and some two million displaced in the conflict in the drought-stricken region of Darfur, sparked in part by competing claims to scarce natural resources, according to humanitarian organizations.
"Access to fresh water is essential for refugee survival, it will help the peace process and provide the necessary resources for the much needed economic development in Darfur," said geologist Farouk El-Baz from Boston University, in Massachussets, USA.
Lake larger than Belgium
His team's discovery was reported last month in the International Journal of Remote Sensing and the Sudanese government has since launched its "1,000 Wells For Darfur" campaign in an effort to raise sufficient funds to tap the precious resource.
The lake was spotted by satellite and lies more than 550 m below sea level. With a surface area of some 30,750 km2 it is slightly larger than the country of Belgium.
It may have contained up to 2,530 km3 of water in the past and was discovered using images from three satellites, one belonging to NASA, another to Canada and a third from the Pentagon.
The geologists were spurred into looking for the lake after the discovery a decade earlier of an underground lake in Egypt north of Darfur that is now used to irrigate some 60,000 hectares of land, Baz said.
Egypt has already committed to sinking the first 20 wells free of charge while the United Nations has sought help in selecting the best sites to sink the wells, said Baz.
The United Nations needs water supplies for its planned 20,000-strong joint U.N.-African Union force, due to deploy in Sudan possibly next year.
Precision useful
"Underground Lake" "may have contained up to 2,530 km3 of water in the past" - and found by remote sensing (no doubt the rocks were, but not the "lake"). Aren't these articles edited by a scientist to make them meaningful? If a specialist in the area can't picture what is being talked about, how can the layman? A little precision in wording would be helpful. This article is probably about an important issue, but who can tell?