West African Basins Research Articles

Evaluation of Gridded Rainfall Products in Three West African Basins

In recent years, accessing rainfall data from ground observation networks maintained by national meteorological services in West Africa has become increasingly challenging. This is primarily due to high acquisition costs and the often sparse distribution of rainfall gauges across the region, which limits their use in hydrological studies and related research. At the same time, the rising availability of precipitation products derived from satellite/earth observations, reanalysis datasets, and in situ measurements presents exciting prospects for hydrological applications. Nonetheless, these datasets constitute indirect measurements, necessitating rigorous validation against ground-based rainfall data. This study comprehensively assesses twenty-three gridded rainfall products, including sixteen from satellites, six from reanalysis data, and one from in situ measurements, across the Senegal, Gambia, and Casamance River basins. Performance evaluation is conducted across distinct climatic zones, both pre- and post-resampling against observed rainfall data gathered from forty-nine rainfall stations over a six-year period (2003–2008). Evaluation criteria include the Kling–Gupta Efficiency (KGE) and Percentage of Bias (PBIAS) metrics, assessed at daily, monthly, and seasonal time steps. The results reveal distinct performance levels among the evaluated rainfall products. RFE, ARC2, and CPC notably yield the highest KGE scores at the daily time step, while GPCP, CHIRP, CHIRPS, RFE, MSWEP, ARC2, CPC, TAMSAT, and CMORPHCRT demonstrate superior performance at the monthly time step. During the rainy season, these products generally exhibit robustness. However, rainfall estimates derived from reanalysis datasets (ERA5, EWEMBI, MERRA2, PGF, WFDEICRU, and WFDEIGPCC) perform poorly in the studied basins. Based on the PBIAS metric, most products tend to underestimate precipitation values, while only PERSIANN and PERSIANNCCS lead to significant overestimations. Spatially, optimal performance of the products is observed in the Casamance basin and the Sudanian and Sahelian climatic zones within the Gambia and Senegal basins. Conversely, in the Guinean zone of the Gambia and Senegal Rivers, the rainfall products displayed the poorest performance.

The critical role of accurate fossil identification: the case of the ostracods of the Codó Formation, NE Brazil

The Class Ostracoda comprises bivalve microcrustaceans with great diversity and abundance in the Lower Cretaceous paleolakes of Brazil and the world. With species generally well-preserved and of relatively short biochrons, it has provided high-resolution biostratigraphic frameworks that permit long-distance correlations. In this context, the Lower Cretaceous biozones of the NE Brazilian basins have allowed the establishment of correlations between coeval geological sections not only in this region but also with those of the Brazilian marginal basins, including the rocks of the pre-salt deposits, as well as with West African basins. In addition to biostratigraphy, these microfossils have proved indispensable in paleoenvironmental and paleogeographical analyses, including studies on the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean. However, some publications have emerged that, regrettably, exhibit errors in species identification and/or the accurate interpretation of biostratigraphic works. These mistakes have led to proposed modifications in both the biochron and geographic distribution of index taxa and taxonomic synonymizations that are incongruent with the current state of knowledge of the species. Consequently, these inaccuracies have given rise to erroneous biochronostratigraphic correlations and paleoenvironmental inferences. In this context, we meticulously examine the current understanding of the taxonomy of ostracods from the Codó Formation (NE Brazil), which is essential for the debate on the use of Lower Cretaceous ostracods in stratigraphy. Keywords: biostratigraphy, paleoecology, microfossils, Lower Cretaceous, Brazil.

Paleobiogeographic affinities and paleoecological significance of paleogene ostracods from Eastern Benin Basin, Southwestern Nigeria

Ditch cutting samples from the studied section of the RC-4 Hole, eastern Benin (Dahomey) Basin were studied for their ostracod content. 3671 ostracod fauna belonging to 22 species were recovered and analysed with a view to determining ostracod paleobiogeographic affinities and paleoecological conditions within this part of the basin during the Paleogene. Ostracod assemblages of the studied section bear close affinities to those of some North and West African basins. Species such as Bairdia ilaroensis, Leguminocythereis spp., Bairdia malzi, Paracosta kefensis, Xestoleberis tunisiensis, Buntonia jordanica, Aegyptiana duwiensis and Leguminocythereis lokossaensis identified from the RC-4 hole suggest shallow neritic conditions. Paracosta kefensis and Paracosta parakefensis occur in high abundance indicating marine upwelling conditions. Many of the species recovered in this study have also been identified from Iullemeden and southern Tethys basins (e.g. Sirte Basin) suggesting ostracod migration from Benin Basin (Gulf of Guinea) to southern Tethys basins through the Paleogene shallow Trans – Saharan Seaway. A distinct ostracod turnover at the top of the limestone unit (Ewekoro Formation) is related to the Paleoceneo Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) – a climatic phenomenon characterised by 5 – 8 C global temperature rise at the end of the Paleocene.

Recovering from Financial Implications of Flood Impacts—The Role of Risk Transfer in the West African Context

In many West African river basins, households regularly experience floods and the associated impacts. In the absence of widely accessible formal risk transfer mechanisms (e.g., insurance), households often have to cope with financial impacts. Only a few studies have explored the financial effects of floods on agriculture-dependent households in the region and the role formal and informal risk transfer plays in their mitigation. This study addresses this gap, explores flood impacts with financial implications for households, and researches the existing strategies to mitigate them. Moreover, it aims to better understand how different measures influence the recovery process. The study draws on primary data from a household survey (n = 744) in the Lower Mono River basin, combined with stakeholder workshops and semi-structured interviews, and applies a generalized linear model to the survey data. The results reveal four flood impact types with financial implications: agricultural, material, health, and trade. Moreover, a shortened recovery time is significantly associated with assistance from savings groups and cooperatives—groups originally not formed to help during floods. In light of the severe and frequent flood impacts, effective and publicly accepted adaptation measures are needed to enable favorable conditions for creating sustainable and accessible risk transfer mechanisms.

Age and paleo-environmental evolution of the Douala Basin (Cameroon) during the Cenozoic: insights from palynology and sequence analysis

The Douala basin in Cameroon is one of the West African basins created during the opening of the South Atlantic Ocean after the break-up of the Gondwana superstructure. Until now, no detailed studies of age and paleo-environmental evolution of this basin during the Cenozoic have been carried out, especially on outcrops sections. Palynological and sequence analyses have been performed on the outcrops in the Missole I and Dibamba localities in the central part of this basin. This integrated approach allow us propose a new age and paleo-environmental evolution of the Douala Basin. Three palynomorph assemblages have been identified: (i) the Paleocene-Eocene palynomorph assemblage (A) from the Missole I deposits; (ii) the Oligocene palynomorph assemblage (B) from the lower part of the Dibamba deposits; and (iii) the Lower to Middle Miocene palynomorph assemblages (C) from the upper part of the Dibamba deposits. Sequence analysis indicates four depositional sequences with a vertical succession, characterized by major transgressive depositional sequences (depositional sequence “a”, “b”, and “c”), and a minor regressive depositional sequence (“d”). The trangressive sequences were deposited in lagoon or marginal marine environments during Paleocene-Eocene, while the regressive sequence was deposited in prograding continental shelf during the Oligocene-Middle Miocene. The recognized depositional sequence and associated depositional environments were controlled by spasmodic subsidence, margin uplift and climatic variations. Climate evolved from a wet-dry subtropical to tropical during the Paleocene-Eocene and a warm humid subtropical during the Oligocene up to Lower Middle Miocene with overall shift of the Douala basin from the Southern to the Northern hemisphere. This study reveals the existence of Oligocene deposits (Souellaba Formation) in the outcrops and could be useful for future correlation with the offshore part of the Douala Basin.

Maastrichtian-Paleocene Ostracoda from Teneida section, Dakhla Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt: Systematics, biostratigraphy, paleobathymetry and paleobiogeography

The detailed examination of the ostracod faunal content in the Maastrichtian-Paleocene succession of Teneida section, Dakhla Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt, yielded 36 ostracod species and subspecies assigned to 25 genera. Most of the species are recovered from the Maastrichtian-Danian interval. Four groups of taxa are differentiated, Maastrichtian taxa, taxa crossing the K/Pg boundary, early Paleocene taxa and early to late Paleocene taxa. Comparison of the species record in the present section with previous records in and outside Egypt implies a remarkable faunal turnover across the K/Pg boundary where taxa characterizing the Maastrichtian and Paleocene are respectively revealed. Whereas the ostracod assemblages found in the Maastrichtian indicate inner to middle neritic settings, the assemblages recorded in the Paleocene reflect deposition in middle to outer neritic settings. The South Tethyan identity of the present fauna during the Maastrichtian-Paleocene is reflected in the wide geographic distribution of many of the recorded species in different areas of North Africa and the Middle East. The less ostracod faunal similarity between the southern Tethys and the West African basins during the Maastrichtian-Selandian compared with the Thanetian is emphasized by the presence only few of the recorded taxa in common with West Africa.

Evaluating a finer resolution global hydrological model’s simulation of discharge in four West-African river basins

Performance evaluation of hydrological models enables their consolidation, thereby allowing for the evaluation of water resource conservation approaches. This research aims to evaluate the performance of a finer resolution version (5 arcmin) of the PCRaster Global Water Balance (PCR-GLOBWB) for discharge estimation, in four basins in data-scarce West Africa; the Niger, Komadugu-Yobe, Jama'are, and Ogun. At the Ogun, discharge simulation was validated in a proxy basin, Oueme, which is hydrologically comparable. The model performance was evaluated using Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), coefficient of determination (r2), Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE), RMSE—observations standard deviation ratio (RSR), percent bias (PBIAS) and visual plots. PCR-GLOBWB was found to be suitable in all four basins but yielded better performance at three of the basins; the Niger, Jama'are, and Komadugu-Yobe (NSE, KGE, and r2 above 0.7) compared to the Ogun basin where a proxy validation approach was followed. Results at the Ogun underlined the importance of measured data in hydrological studies. Still, model performance was satisfactory in the Ogun. PCR-GLOBWB performances across the four basins, in the area, validate its reliability as a tool applicable for water resources management strategies and further investigation of impacts of climate variations on river dynamics.

Checklist of the fresh and brackish water snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda) of Bénin and adjacent West African ecoregions

Currently no comprehensive checklist of fresh and brackish water gastropods from Bénin exists, and those for adjacent West African areas are outdated. Yet, such checklists provide essential biodiversity information and a consistent taxonomic and nomenclatural framework for that biodiversity. Here a first checklist of the fresh and brackish water gastropods from Bénin and adjacent West African ecoregions is presented, based on an extensive literature review and field surveys between September 2014 and June 2019 in six major fresh and brackish water ecosystems in Bénin. This inventory includes information on synonymy, species distribution in West Africa, habitats, and conservation status. The fresh and brackish water gastropod fauna includes 60 species, belonging to 28 genera and 16 families. Pachychilidae, Ampullariidae, Neritidae, and Bulinidae were the most diverse families with 9, 8, 7, and 7 species, respectively. However, literature and field data indicated that 23 species observed in West African basins that extend to Bénin do not occur in the territory of Bénin. These species were not detected in our field surveys, most likely because they are rare at collecting sites. Of the 60 species included, five are classified as “Data Deficient”, 43 as “Least Concern”, two as “Nearly Threatened”, one as “Vulnerable”, and six as “Endangered” by the IUCN, whereas the remaining three species were not evaluated. Because the taxonomy of fresh and brackish water gastropods in West Africa is still largely based on morphology, comparative molecular and taxonomic studies may result in substantial revisions of this checklist over the coming years.

Significant Day-time Ionospheric Perturbation by Thunderstorms along the West African and Congo Sector of Equatorial Region

The equatorial Congo has been recognized as the most active lightning chimney region in the Globe. Although the perturbation of tropospheric thunderstorms on the lower ionosphere has been noticed in the middle latitudes through their transient lightning electric fields or convective gravity waves, the effects on equatorial ionosphere and the horizontal extent of this perturbation remains a mystery because of the difficulties in extracting the effects due to the sporadic nature of the equatorial ionosphere. Here we present observational results showing solid evidence of deviations in ionospheric total electron content (TEC) and its direction of propagation associated with thunderstorms using the method of polynomial filtering, by utilizing the TEC measured from equatorial Global Positioning System (GPS) Receiver stations along the West African region-Congo Basin. The TEC deviations due to the thunderstorms were found to be mostly propagated in a specific direction from the point of the event, with the highest absolute peak TEC at ~±1.5 TECUs. The internal dynamics of the equatorial ionosphere have been found to be suppressed by large thunderstorm effects during the daytime, with negligible impact at night.

Potential flood hazard zone mapping based on geomorphologic considerations and fuzzy analytical hierarchy model in a data scarce West African basin

Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) was employed to map and rank flood hazard zones within the Northwest Benin Owena River Basin (NWBORB). Topographic wetness index, elevation, altitude above channel, slope, drainage density, convergence index, and runoff contributing to water accumulation/stagnation were processed to generate the flood hazard map of the basin. Values for the relative importance of each factor for flood occurrence were obtained using FAHP; these factors were super-imposed using weighted overlay. Sensitivity analysis of the weights was conducted to determine their influence on the overall analysis. The resultant flood hazard map was classified into five zones very high, high, moderate, low, and very low. Sensitivity analysis of the result showed that runoff and slope were the most sensitive factors in the analysis with values of 1.163 and 1.132, respectively. A comparison between flood hazard map and historical floods within the basin established the reliability of the methodology.

Hydrological Evaluation of PERSIANN-CDR Rainfall over Upper Senegal River and Bani River Basins

This study highlights the advantage of satellite-derived rainfall products for hydrological modeling in regions of insufficient ground observations such as West African basins. Rainfall is the main input for hydrological models; however, gauge data are scarce or difficult to obtain. Fortunately, several precipitation products are available. In this study, Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks–Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR) was analyzed. Daily discharges of three rivers of the Upper Senegal basin and one of the Upper Niger basin, as well as water levels of Manantali reservoir were simulated using PERSIANN-CDR as input to the CEQUEAU model. First, CEQUEAU was calibrated and validated using raw PERSIANN-CDR, and second, rainfalls were bias-corrected and the model was recalibrated. In both cases, ERA-Interim temperatures were used. Model performance was evaluated using Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), mean percent bias (MPBIAS), and coefficient of determination (R2). With raw PERSIANN-CDR, most years show good performance with values of NSE > 0.8, R2 > 0.90, and MPBIAS < 10%. However, bias-corrected PERSIANN-CDR did not improve the simulations. The findings of this study can be used to improve the design of dam projects such as the ongoing dam constructions on the three rivers of the Upper Senegal Basin.

Assessment of Spatio-Temporal Changes of Land Use and Land Cover over South-Western African Basins and Their Relations with Variations of Discharges

West African basins play a vital role in the socio-economic development of the region. They are mostly trans-boundary and sources of different land use practices. This work attempts to assess the spatio-temporal land use and land cover changes over three South Western African basins (Volta, Mono and Sassandra basins) and their influence on discharge. The land use and land cover maps of each basin were developed for 1988, 2002 and 2016. The results show that all the studied basins present an increase in water bodies, built-up, agricultural land and a decline in vegetative areas. These increases in water bodies and land use are as a result of an increase in small reservoirs, of dugouts and of dam constructions. However, the decline in some vegetative clusters could be attributed to the demographic and socio-economic growth as expressed by the expansion of agriculture and urbanization. The basic statistical analysis of precipitation and discharge data reveals that the mean annual discharge varies much more than the total annual precipitation at the three basins. For instance, in the entire Volta basin, the annual precipitation coefficient of variation (CV) is 10% while the annual discharge CV of Nawuni, Saboba and Bui are 43.6%, 36.51% and 47.43%, respectively. In Mono basin, the annual precipitation CV is 11.5% while the Nangbeto and Athieme annual discharge CV are 37.15% and 46.60%, respectively. The annual precipitation CV in Sassandra basin is 7.64% while the annual discharge CV of Soubre and Dakpadou are 29.41% and 37%, respectively. The discharge varies at least three times much more than the precipitation in the studied basins. The same conclusion was found for all months except the driest months (December and January). We showed that this great variation in discharge is mainly due to land use and land cover changes. Beside the hydrological modification of the land use and land cover changes, the climate of the region as well as the water quality and availability and the hydropower generation may be impacted by these changes in land surfaces conditions. Therefore, these impacts should be further assessed to implement appropriate climate services and measures for a sustainable land use and water management.

Climate change to severely impact West African basin scale irrigation in 2\u2009\xb0C and 1.5\u2009\xb0C global warming scenarios

West Africa is in general limited to rainfed agriculture. It lacks irrigation opportunities and technologies that are applied in many economically developed nations. A warming climate along with an increasing population and wealth has the potential to further strain the region’s potential to meet future food needs. In this study, we investigate West Africa’s hydrological potential to increase agricultural productivity through the implementation of large-scale water storage and irrigation. A 23-member ensemble of Regional Climate Models is applied to assess changes in hydrologically relevant variables under 2 °C and 1.5 °C global warming scenarios according to the UNFCCC 2015 Conference of Parties (COP 21) agreement. Changes in crop water demand, irrigation water need, water availability and the difference between water availability and irrigation water needs, here referred as basin potential, are presented for ten major river basins covering entire West Africa. Under the 2 °C scenario, crop water demand and irrigation water needs are projected to substantially increase with the largest changes in the Sahel and Gulf of Guinea respectively. At the same time, irrigation potential, which is directly controlled by the climate, is projected to decrease even in regions where water availability increases. This indicates that West African river basins will likely face severe freshwater shortages thus limiting sustainable agriculture. We conclude a general decline in the basin-scale irrigation potential in the event of large-scale irrigation development under 2 °C global warming. Reducing the warming to 1.5 °C decreases these impacts by as much as 50%, suggesting that the region of West Africa clearly benefits from efforts of enhanced mitigation.

First palynostratigraphical evidence for a Late Eocene to Early Miocene age of the volcano-sedimentary series of Dschang, western part of Cameroon and its implications for the interpretation of palaeoenvironment

The volcano-sedimentary infill of the Dschang basin in the Western part of Cameroon is poorly known. The present study provides the first biostratigraphical data of the volcano-sedimentary sequence and allows constraining the age and the position of this basin within the regional context of Central Africa. The studied sequence is composed of three depositional units. The first unit is a fining-upwards sequence of coarse-grained sandstone that gets finer towards the top, passing to thick layers of fossiliferous claystone. The second unit is strongly affected by volcanic activity and consists of a volcano-sedimentary sequence. The third unit is marked by basaltic volcanism and covers the series. Diverse and well-preserved palynomorphs were recovered and are used to provide valuable information for age determination of the Dschang volcano-sedimentary sequence, namely to be of late Eocene- Early Miocene age. The recovered spores, pollen, green algae and fungal remains from the bottom of the sequence include Bombacidites spp., Clavainaperturites cf. clavatus, Crototricolpites sp., Perfotricolpites digitatus, Proteacidites spp., Psilastephanocolporites minor, Psilastephanocolporites spp., Retitrescolpites spp., Retitricolporites irregularis, Retitricolporites spp., Retitriporites sp., Spirosyncolpites bruni (probably synonymous to Spirosyncolpites spiralis), Striatopollis bellus, (considered synonymous to Striatopollis catatumbus), Striatopollis sp., Tetracolporites quadratus, Tetratricolporites sp., ?Verrutricolporites rotundiporis, Cyathidites sp., Laevigatosporites spp., Polypodiaceoisporites spp., Verrucatosporites usmensis, Verrucatosporites spp., Botryococcus sp., Tasmanites sp., and fungal remains.The samples are assigned to the Verrucatosporites usmensis Zone of Salard-Cheboldaeff (1979). The palynological assemblages are similar to those of other Late Eocene to Early Miocene palynological records from the West, Central and Northern African basins. Study of the organic matter by pyrolysis Rock-Eval 6 (Types I, II and III), the sedimentological setting, the palynofacies and the palynomorph assemblages show evidences of tidal influence (presence of the prasinophyte Tasmanites) in an active continental margin (semi-arid to humid lacustrine depositional environment). The Ngoua sedimentary sequence is fluvio-lacustrine, and believed to have witnessed some occasional marine incursions possibly during the opening of the Central Atlantic Ocean (CAO) and strongly disturbed later by intense volcanic activity.

Streamflows over a West African Basin from the ALMIP2 Model Ensemble

Abstract Comparing streamflow simulations against observations has become a straightforward way to evaluate a land surface model’s (LSM) ability in simulating water budget within a catchment. Using a mesoscale river routing scheme (RRS), this study evaluates simulated streamflows over the upper Ouémé River basin resulting from 14 LSMs within the framework of phase 2 of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) Land Surface Model Intercomparison Project (ALMIP2). The ALMIP2 RRS (ARTS) has been used to route LSM outputs. ARTS is based on the nonlinear Muskingum–Cunge method and a simple deep water infiltration formulation representing water-table recharge as previously observed in that region. Simulations are performed for the 2005–08 period during which ground observations are largely available. Experiments are designed using different ground-based rainfall datasets derived from two interpolation methods: the Thiessen technique and a combined kriging–Lagrangian methodology. LSM-based total runoff (TR) averages vary from 0.07 to 1.97 mm day−1, while optimal TR was estimated as ~0.65 mm day−1. This highly affected the RRS parameterization and streamflow simulations. Optimal Nash–Sutcliffe coefficients for LSM-averaged streamflows varied from 0.66 to 0.92, depending on the gauge station. However, individual LSM performances show a wider range. A more detailed rainfall distribution provided by the kriging–Lagrangian methodology resulted in overall better streamflow simulations. The early runoff generation related to reduced infiltration rates during early rainfall events features as one of the main reasons for poor LSM performances.

Reservoir properties prediction using extended elastic impedance: the case of Nianga field of West African Congo basin

Simultaneous seismic inversion and extended elastic impedance (EEI) were applied to obtain quantitative estimates of porosity, water saturation, and shale volume over Nianga field of Congo basin, West Africa. The optimum angle at which EEI log and the target petrophysical parameter give the maximum correlation was meticulously analyzed by additionally incorporating the concept of relative rock physics. Prestack seismic data were simultaneously inverted into Vp, acoustic, and gradient impedances. The last two broadband inverted volumes were projected to Chi angles corresponding to the target petrophysical parameters, and three broadband EEI volumes were obtained. At well control points, the linear trends based on specific lithology between EEI and petrophysical parameters were then used to transform EEI volumes into quantitative porosity, water saturation, and shale volume cubes. In order to obtain the reservoir facies distribution, another concept of minimum energy angle was used to generate the background EEI cube, thereby enabling the mapping of reservoir facies. From quantitative porosity, water saturation, shale content, and background EEI cubes, favorable zones have been pinpointed which may suggest possible drilling locations for future development of the field.

Paleobiogeographic implications of Paleocene ostracods from Senegal and related West and North Africa basins

This work summarizes biostratigraphic and paleogeographic data on Paleocene ostracods from the Senegalese-Mauritanian, West African and North African basins. In the Senegalese-Mauritanian basin, late Paleocene ostracods of high diversity suffered a mass extinction in the early Eocene. Comparison between Senegalese faunas and others of the Gulf of Guinea, Sahara and North African basins shows great similarities, with 10 common species identified: Bairdia ilaroensis Reyment and Reyment, Buntonia apatayeriyerii Reyment, B. fortunata Apostolescu, B. tichittensis Apostolescu, Cytherella sylvesterbradleyi Reyment, Dahomeya alata Apostolescu, Isohabrocythere teiskotensis Apostolescu, Phalcocythere vesiculosa (Apostolescu) Quadracythere lagaghiroboensis (Apostolescu) and Trachyleberis teiskotensis (Apostolescu). I. teiskotensis and P. vesiculosa are restricted to the upper Paleocene and are good stratigraphic markers for these basins. Faunal exchanges between West African, trans-Saharan and North African basins are highlighted. The directions of migration of some species are specified. Many West African species migrated to North Africa at the end of the Paleocene-Early Eocene. Migrations are related to climatic and paleobathymetric changes of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) that occurred during the Paleocene-Eocene transition.

Evaluating LSM-Based Water Budgets over a West African Basin Assisted with a River Routing Scheme

AbstractWithin the framework of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) Land Surface Model Intercomparison Project phase 2 (ALMIP-2), this study evaluates the water balance simulated by the Interactions between Soil, Biosphere, and Atmosphere (ISBA) over the upper Ouémé River basin, in Benin, using a mesoscale river routing scheme (RRS). The RRS is based on the nonlinear Muskingum–Cunge method coupled with two linear reservoirs that simulate the time delay of both surface runoff and base flow that are produced by land surface models. On the basis of the evidence of a deep water-table recharge in that region, a reservoir representing the deep-water infiltration (DWI) is introduced. The hydrological processes of the basin are simulated for the 2005–08 AMMA field campaign period during which rainfall and streamflow data were intensively collected over the study area. Optimal RRS parameter sets were determined for three optimization experiments that were performed using daily streamflow at five gauges within the basin. Results demonstrate that the RRS simulates streamflow at all gauges with relative errors varying from −20% to 3% and Nash–Sutcliffe coefficients varying from 0.62 to 0.90. DWI varies from 24% to 67% of the base flow as a function of the subbasin. The relatively simple reservoir DWI approach is quite robust, and further improvements would likely necessitate more complex solutions (e.g., considering seasonality and soil type in ISBA); thus, such modifications are recommended for future studies. Although the evaluation shows that the simulated streamflows are generally satisfactory, further field investigations are necessary to confirm some of the model assumptions.

The reawakening of the onshore Kwanza Basin

Craig Koch, Iain Brown, Ron Borsato, Severino Cardoso and Lumen Sebastiao examine how the development of modern 2D seismic techniques has led to expectations of new prospectivity in a West African basin that was abandoned more than a decade ago.

Campano–Maastrichtian foraminifera from onshore sediments in the Rio del Rey Basin, Southwest Cameroon

Campanian–Maastrichtian marine sediments outcrop in five genetically linked sedimentary basins along the West African coast in the Gulf of Guinea, from the Douala Basin in Cameroon to the Anambra Basin in Nigeria. These sediments in the more centrally located Rio del Rey Basin have been the least studied. Therefore, the geologic history of this region has merely been speculative. The Rio del Rey Basin like the adjacent Niger Delta is producing hydrocarbon from the offshore Tertiary sedimentary interval in which all studies have been focused, neglecting the onshore Cretaceous sediments. Outcrops in the basin are rare, small and highly weathered. Samples from some of these sediments have yielded a few Planktonic and dominantly benthonic foraminiferal assemblages. The long-ranging heterohelix and hedbergellids characterized the planktics while the species Afrobolivina afra which is a well known diagnostic taxon for Campanian–Maastrichtian sediments in West African basins clearly dominate the benthic assemblage. Its occurrence in association with other Upper Cretaceous forms such as Bolivina explicata, Praebulimina exiqua, Gabonita lata, Ammobaculites coprolithiformis amongst others, formed the basis on which this age was assigned to the sediments sampled from the Rio del Rey Basin. Hence, this work has undoubtedly established the much needed link in this regional geologic history and correlates these sediments with the Logbaba and Nkporo Formations in the Douala Basin in Cameroon and the southeastern Nigerian Sedimentary Basins. Thus, these units were all deposited during this same geologic period and probably controlled by the same geologic event.