A Geostatistical and Geographic Information System Based Assessment of Radiogenic Heat Production and Geothermal Potential of Irrigation Sediments in the Kano River Basin, Northwestern Nigeria.

The radiogenic decay of uranium (²³⁸U), thorium (²³²Th), and potassium (⁴⁰K) is a significant source of heat in the Earth's crust, and is a primary consideration in the development of geothermal energy resources. The Kano River Basin irrigation system, located in the Northwest of Nigeria, was analyzed to estimate the radiogenic heat production and shallow geothermal potential of the sediment using high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry, GIS, and multivariate statistical analyses. Ten representative sites were selected for ²³²Th, ²³⁸U and ⁴⁰K activity measurements, and the empirical model developed by Rybach was used to estimate the radiogenic heat production. The estimated values ranged from 1.12–2.65 µW m⁻³, with a mean of 1.93 µW m⁻³. Downstream sediments were identified as having moderate to high geothermal potential through strong positive correlations (r > 0.90), regression modeling (94% explained variance), principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and spatial interpolation. The results provide useful baseline data for geothermal development, and environmental management