Application of Meteosat thermal data to map soil infiltrability in the central part of the Lake Chad basin, Africa.

Abstract

In the central part of the Lake Chad Basin, Africa, the superficial Quaternary aquifer (500,000 km 2 ) forms the main water resource. Little is known about the aquifer recharge processes. Large piezometric depressions affect the aquifer and are still unexplained. Meteosat thermal composite data were used to infer qualitative information about time‐space variations of soil moisture. Over the aquifer, Meteosat data reveal that after heavy rainfall, the piezometric depressions (Kadzell, Chari‐Baguirmi) appear cooler than the surrounding areas (Manga and Harr). The interpretation is that above the depressions, rainwater accumulates at the surface and does not infiltrate deep into the ground, leading to the observed cooler ground. Accordingly, the depressions are characterized by low rainwater infiltrability, which presumably results in a small rainfall recharge. As far as we know, this is the first time that an observed surface phenomenon is directly related to the origin of some piezometric depressions.