Microbialite seeps harnessed to monitor aquifer health

‘Over the past decade, researchers in the Eastern Cape have been studying microbialite ecosystems associated with freshwater seeps along the province’s south coast.

‘Recently, the research team completed a WRC-funded project to explore the connectivity between the seeps and groundwater. Project leader Dr Gavin Rishworth, a senior lecturer in the Zoology Department at Nelson Mandela University (NMU), explains that the research was largely the work of Carla Dodd and Tristin O’Connell for their respective PhD and MSc theses, but other scientists from NMU, the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) and the Council for Geoscience made contributions too, as reflected in the list of authors on the final report. Titled ‘Coastal microbialite seeps as accessible monitoring locations of local aquifer resources’ (WRC report no. 3161/1/24), the report suggests that SSLiME may be useful as indicators of groundwater quality and quantity. In other words, they could potentially act as a proverbial canary in the coal mine in response to pollution and over-abstraction of coastal aquifers.’

Read the full article here by Sue Matthews which is featured in The Water Wheel - Jan/Feb 2025

Click here, to access the full report: Coastal microbialite seeps accessible monitoring locations of local aquifer resources (WRC report no. 3161/1/24)