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11 February 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Rian Horn
First-year Athletics
“KovsieSport’s new group of first-year athletes embody quality,” says Kesa Molotsane.

The KovsieSport athletics evening is always a lively and energetic event, as students take part in fun activities that entail singing and cheering their peers on as they compete against one another in a variety of athletic sports activities.

House Veritas, who are famous for their spirit and creative musical ways, won the overall spirit cup on the day, with House Imperium winning the co-ed category, and House Harmony winning the female category.

According to a former University of the Free State (UFS) KovsieSport Senior Sportswoman of the Year (2017), Kesa Molotsane, the 2019 group of first-year students is one that embodies quality and talent.

Molotsane explained: “Louzanne Jansen van Rensberg, who was dubbed one of the best athletes in the Free State, has joined the Kovsie family; this promises to be a prominent year in sport for the UFS”.

The UFS is looking forward to a successful year in sport, with the likes of Jannes Schlebusch who obtained a silver medal at the IAAF World U.18 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya in 2017, and is South Africa’s best junior javelin thrower. Joviale Mbisha was ranked 14th at the IAAF World U.18 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya in 2017, and has also joined the UFS Kovsie Sport team. A number of fresh talents have joined the team, promising an interesting year ahead for the university.



News Archive

Scientists discover a water reservoir beneath the Free State
2009-12-09

Dr Holger Sommer

The Mantle Research Group Bloemfontein (MRGB), under the leadership of Dr Holger Sommer, a senior lecturer in the Department of Geology at the University of the Free State (UFS), has discovered an enormous water reservoir 160 km beneath the Free State.

This discovery, according to Dr Sommer, is the first of its kind in South Africa after he had previously made a similar finding in Colorado, USA.

However, this water cannot be used for human consumption. “It is not frozen water; it is not molecular water; it is not fresh water; it is not salty water; it is OH – water which is sitting in the crystal lattice,” he said.

He said the reservoir was comparable in size to Lake Victoria in Tanzania.
The researchers collected eclogites from the Roberts Victor (Rovic) Mine close to the town of Boshof, south-west of the Free State, for their study.

“The Rovic eclogites are rocks which represent former oceanic crust transported into the earth’s interior by complex plate tectonic processes about 2.0 billion years ago,” explained Dr Sommer.

“These rocks were finally carried back to the earth’s surface by volcanic (kimberlite) eruptions around 130 million years ago. Eclogitic rocks are therefore a window into the Earth’s interior.”

The question from the beginning for all MRGB scientists was: Is there water inside these rocks in such depth, and if so, where is it located?

To answer this question, Dr Sommer and his research fellows separated single mineral grains from eclogite samples and prepared about 100 micrometer (0,1 mm) thick rock sections. Afterwards, specific particle accelerator (Synchrotron) measurements were carried out in the city of Karlsruhe in Germany.

“And indeed, the MRGB found water inside the studied rocks from the Roberts Victor Mine,” he said. “The water was located in defect structures in crystal lattices and along boundaries between single mineral grains.”

“The occurrence of water at such depth would give first evidence that all water of the oceans could be stored five to ten times in the earth’s mantle.”
The study was conducted about a year ago.
 

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za
4 December 2009

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