Ancient ‘mega-lake’ discovered in Sudan
April 11, 2007 (BOSTON) — U.S. scientists using satellite data have found evidence of an ancient mega-lake in northern Darfur that might lead to new groundwater sources in Sudan.
Boston University researchers Eman Ghoneim and Farouk El-Baz made the finding while investigating Landsat images and Radarsat data. Radar waves were able to penetrate the fine-grained sand cover in Darfur province’s hot and dry eastern Sahara area to reveal buried features.
The scientists said the lake occupied an area of about 19,100 square miles but they made no inferences regarding its age. However, they said its vast extent suggests it existed for a long period of time when rainfall was plentiful in the eastern Sahara.
“One thing is certain,” said El-Baz, “much of the lake’s water would have seeped through the sandstone substrate to accumulate as groundwater.”
Ghoneim said the ancient lake represents indisputable evidence of the past rainy conditions in the eastern Sahara. “It will have significant consequences for improving our knowledge of continental climate change and regional palaeohydrology,” he added.
A paper detailing the discovery is to be published in the International Journal of Remote Sensing.
(UPI)