page_title: Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System
hierarchical_section_title: Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System
caption_attribution_description: English: Transport pipes
context_page_description: The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System is the world's largest known fossil water aquifer system. It is located underground in the Eastern end of the Sahara Desert and spans the political boundaries of four countries in north-eastern Africa. NSAS covers a land area spanning just over two million km², including north-western Sudan, north-eastern Chad, south-eastern Libya, and most of Egypt. Containing an estimated 150,000 km³ of groundwater, the significance of the NSAS as a potential water resource for future development programs in these countries is extraordinary. The Great Man-made River Project in Libya makes use of the system, extracting substantial amounts of water from this aquifer, removing an estimated 2.4 km³ of fresh water for consumption and agriculture per year. This system is primarily used to supply water in the Kufra oasis.
context_section_description: The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (NSAS) is the world's largest known fossil water aquifer system. It is located underground in the Eastern end of the Sahara Desert and spans the political boundaries of four countries in north-eastern Africa. NSAS covers a land area spanning just over two million km², including north-western Sudan, north-eastern Chad, south-eastern Libya, and most of Egypt. Containing an estimated 150,000 km³ of groundwater, the significance of the NSAS as a potential water resource for future development programs in these countries is extraordinary. The Great Man-made River Project (GMMR) in Libya makes use of the system, extracting substantial amounts of water from this aquifer, removing an estimated 2.4 km³ of fresh water for consumption and agriculture per year. This system is primarily used to supply water in the Kufra oasis.
caption: The transport of pipe segments for the Great Manmade River in the Sahara desert, Libya, during the 1980s: a network of pipes that supplies water from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System, a fossil aquifer in the Sahara Desert of Libya. The Great Manmade River is the world's largest irrigation project.
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