Researcher uses geophysics to bring water to African students

It's not often that people associate geophysics with global
development, but Madeline Lee,
a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at
McMaster, knows
the two go hand-in-hand.

In 2008, Lee signed on to work as a geophysical consultant at the
University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. A year later,
she began volunteering at a nearby village, where scarce and
contaminated groundwater threatened the well-being of children at a
local school.

Dayspring Village School, home to 100 staff and students, is located
about 70 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg. It is the site of
diminishing water wells and invasive, non-indigenous plants that
further deplete the
school's water supply.

In response to these challenges, Lee and her colleagues conducted
fieldwork in the area to locate sites for new water wells.

The
project, supported by Geoscientists Without Borders, was established
to improve
water access during the dry season, which can last anywhere from
four to six months.

Instead of reverting to systematic drilling, the team used alternative
geophysical methods to image the region's groundwater
table.

Lee organized the team's transportation and its
physical collection of data. She also helped Witwatersrand students
process and interpret field data using geophysics software.

She recently returned to Canada to complete her studies and reflected
on her experience abroad.

“In our first year, we only had access to equipment from the
university, and it took about three days just to do 400 metres of
imaging,” she says. “Once we received funding, we were able to use
more advanced technology to collect geophysical data.”

Another goal of the project was to increase inter-university
collaboration and expose students to non-academic institutions such as
industry and government.

Lee has had experience in several areas of geophysics, ranging
from government consultation to the mining industry. Under the
supervision of Professor Bill Morris, she successfully completed her
master of science degree at McMaster and is currently finishing the
last 18 months of her PhD at the Flight Research Laboratory in Ottawa.

“Geophysics has great potential to improve the standard of living in
the developing world,” says Lee. “I hope to see more students
embracing a more humanitarian approach to geosciences.”

She also encourages students to go out and discover what they are
passionate about in their individual fields of study.

“I think it's important for students to network and engage in as any
external learning opportunities as possible,” says Lee.