Aquifer
Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System
The largest known fossil groundwater system in the world, underlying Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Chad. Its water is tens of thousands of years old and is not being replenished.
Key facts
- Area
- approximately 2 million km²
- Countries
- 4
- Water age
- Up to and beyond 1 million years in places
- Recharge
- Effectively none under current climate
Why it matters
Libya’s Great Man-Made River project abstracts from this system and pipes water over a thousand kilometres to the coastal cities. It is the largest water transfer scheme of its kind, and it is explicitly a finite resource being spent rather than a renewable supply being used.
Relationships
- Located in: Libya
Related intelligence
Sources
- World Wildlife Fund / McGill University — HydroSHEDS / HydroRIVERS / HydroLAKES / HydroBASINS. Open — attribution required · CC BY 4.0
- Global Water System Project — Global Reservoir and Dam Database. Open — attribution required · CC BY 4.0
- Peer-reviewed scientific literature — Open-access hydrology, water chemistry and water use research. Public but restricted · Publisher terms — public access, reuse not clearly granted