BGR Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe

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BGR Report 2022 – Exploitation of Groundwater. Resources for Further Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Deutsche Version

Cover BGR Report 2022

Europe is facing numerous challenges that are closely linked to raw materials issues and the topics of geothermal energy and groundwater. With harmonised and standardised geological information, the European joint project GeoERA has laid the foundation for Europe's natural resources to be used even more sustainably in the future. You can read about BGR's contribution to this success in the ‘GeoERA – geological knowledge for Europe’ article (page 6 ff.).

Global competition for raw materials for key and future technologies is increasing. Strong price fluctuations and supply bottlenecks currently dominate the international markets. A study by the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) conducted within BGR has – using the example of international companies – examined which strategies in the supply of raw materials can be promising for our domestic industry. We report on the results on pages 10 and 11.

Billions of tonnes of mining waste are stored in dumps and tailings ponds around the world. The residues often pose a major environmental risk, but also contain valuable metals. BGR is researching how these mining residues can be successfully remediated with the help of microorganisms and used as a source of raw materials, as the article on ‘biomining’ shows (p. 14 f.).

Soils fulfil a variety of important functions for humans and nature. However, climate change is increasingly affecting important soil functions. Research is being conducted using applications to assess changes, such as an interactive map application from the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD). It provides those involved in agriculture with daily updated information on soil moisture in relation to various crops. Read about how this tool will be further developed with BGR expertise in the article on pages 24 and 25.

In early 2022, a submarine volcano near Tonga erupted in the South Pacific. It was the most powerful eruption ever recorded by satellites and other digital measuring instruments. BGR infrasound facilities in the Bavarian Forest and in Antarctica also registered the volcanic event of the century. The shock wave circled the globe several times, as the article on pages 28 and 29 describes.

Germany is looking for a site for the safe final disposal of highly radioactive waste. With its scientific expertise, BGR is supporting the Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE) in the selection process. Our report on pages 30 and 31 describes how BGR is studying whether clay can fulfil the criteria for a repository as a host rock in the Mont Terri underground laboratory in Switzerland.

Groundwater resources are heavily overused in many places. On the other hand, in Sub-Saharan Africa they have a great but mostly untapped potential to supply people with clean water and sufficient food and make a sustainable contribution towards economic development. In the cover story of this report (p. 36 ff.), you can read about how BGR supports government agencies and international organisations in giving Sub-Saharan Africa a new perspective.

I hope you enjoy reading it!

Prof. Dr. Ralph Watzel,
President of the Federal Institute for
Geosciences and Natural Resources
BGR

The BGR Report is free of charge and can be obtained from: Vertrieb@bgr.de

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BGR Report of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources 2022 (PDF, 11 MB)


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Contact

    
Sina Vollbrecht
Phone: +49-(0)511-643-2074

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