The magnetic method as a tool in groundwater investigation in a basement complex terrain: Modomo Southwest Nigeria as a case study

Abstract A detailed ground magnetic survey was carried out in a basement complex underlain Modomo community in southwestern Nigeria with a view to delineating the subsurface structures, estimate the overburden thicknesses and assess the relevance of the geophysical method in groundwater investigation in the locality. The total field component of the earth’s magnetic field was measured at station intervals of 10–100 m along access routes within the study area. The data were corrected for diurnal variation and offset and subsequently reduced to the magnetic equator (RTE). Data enhancement techniques including the second vertical derivative, total horizontal derivative and Euler deconvolution were applied to the RTE data to map edges and estimate depths to the structures. Overburden thicknesses were estimated from 2D magnetic subsurface modeling along eight profiles. The magnetic survey derived lineaments (structures) and overburden thicknesses were validated with resistivity survey derived 2D structures and overburden thicknesses and borehole log data from the study area. Twenty-four lineaments with lengths ranging from 150 to 777 m were identified from the magnetic map. The lineament orientations were E–W, ENE–WSW, WNW–ESE, NNW–SSE, NW–SE and NE–SW directions. Many of the identified lineaments correlated significantly with structures derived from the 2D resistivity images. Comparable thicknesses were observed between correlated magnetic derived overburden thicknesses (4.41–29.4 m) and depths from wells and boreholes (5.48–27.1 m). The study concluded that the magnetic method could be reliably used for overburden thickness estimation and structure mapping required in groundwater potential assessment in a typical basement complex terrain.