Morphodynamics and Evolution of Estuarine Sandspits along the Bight of Benin Coast, West Africa
It is well known that estuarine systems are significantly affected by hydrodynamic conditions such as river discharge, storm surges, waves and tidal conditions. In addition to this, human interferences through developmental projects have the capability of disrupting the natural morphological process...
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/21/2977 |
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| author | Stephan Korblah Lawson Hitoshi Tanaka Keiko Udo Nguyen Trong Hiep Nguyen Xuan Tinh |
| author_facet | Stephan Korblah Lawson Hitoshi Tanaka Keiko Udo Nguyen Trong Hiep Nguyen Xuan Tinh |
| author_sort | Stephan Korblah Lawson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It is well known that estuarine systems are significantly affected by hydrodynamic conditions such as river discharge, storm surges, waves and tidal conditions. In addition to this, human interferences through developmental projects have the capability of disrupting the natural morphological processes occurring at estuaries. In West Africa, the goal to improve standards of living through large-scale dam construction, offshore ports and coastal erosion countermeasures has triggered alarming changes in the morphodynamics of estuarine systems. The estuaries at the Volta River mouth (Ghana) and “Bouche du Roi” inlet (Benin), located along the Bight of Benin coast, West Africa, were selected as two case study sites to examine their long-term morphodynamics and sandspit evolution. In this study, we primarily analyzed estuarine morphology using remotely sensed images acquired from 1984 to 2020. We further estimated the longshore sediment transport for this region using results from the image analysis and the depth of active sediment motion. Our results reveal that the longshore sediment transport rates for this region are in the magnitude of 10<sup>5</sup>–10<sup>6</sup> m<sup>3</sup>/year. Comparative analysis with other estuaries and sandy coasts suggests that the longshore sediment transport along this coast has one of the largest rates estimated in the world. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:49:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b7c9f4391004aaba4c867d3ffa23660 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:49:00Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-5b7c9f4391004aaba4c867d3ffa236602023-11-22T21:53:28ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-10-011321297710.3390/w13212977Morphodynamics and Evolution of Estuarine Sandspits along the Bight of Benin Coast, West AfricaStephan Korblah Lawson0Hitoshi Tanaka1Keiko Udo2Nguyen Trong Hiep3Nguyen Xuan Tinh4Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Sendai 980-8579, JapanDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Sendai 980-8579, JapanInternational Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Aoba 4681-1, Sendai 980-8572, JapanDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Sendai 980-8579, JapanDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Sendai 980-8579, JapanIt is well known that estuarine systems are significantly affected by hydrodynamic conditions such as river discharge, storm surges, waves and tidal conditions. In addition to this, human interferences through developmental projects have the capability of disrupting the natural morphological processes occurring at estuaries. In West Africa, the goal to improve standards of living through large-scale dam construction, offshore ports and coastal erosion countermeasures has triggered alarming changes in the morphodynamics of estuarine systems. The estuaries at the Volta River mouth (Ghana) and “Bouche du Roi” inlet (Benin), located along the Bight of Benin coast, West Africa, were selected as two case study sites to examine their long-term morphodynamics and sandspit evolution. In this study, we primarily analyzed estuarine morphology using remotely sensed images acquired from 1984 to 2020. We further estimated the longshore sediment transport for this region using results from the image analysis and the depth of active sediment motion. Our results reveal that the longshore sediment transport rates for this region are in the magnitude of 10<sup>5</sup>–10<sup>6</sup> m<sup>3</sup>/year. Comparative analysis with other estuaries and sandy coasts suggests that the longshore sediment transport along this coast has one of the largest rates estimated in the world.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/21/2977estuarine systemsriver mouthtidal inletlongshore sediment transportmorphodynamicssatellite image analysis |
| spellingShingle | Stephan Korblah Lawson Hitoshi Tanaka Keiko Udo Nguyen Trong Hiep Nguyen Xuan Tinh Morphodynamics and Evolution of Estuarine Sandspits along the Bight of Benin Coast, West Africa Water estuarine systems river mouth tidal inlet longshore sediment transport morphodynamics satellite image analysis |
| title | Morphodynamics and Evolution of Estuarine Sandspits along the Bight of Benin Coast, West Africa |
| title_full | Morphodynamics and Evolution of Estuarine Sandspits along the Bight of Benin Coast, West Africa |
| title_fullStr | Morphodynamics and Evolution of Estuarine Sandspits along the Bight of Benin Coast, West Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Morphodynamics and Evolution of Estuarine Sandspits along the Bight of Benin Coast, West Africa |
| title_short | Morphodynamics and Evolution of Estuarine Sandspits along the Bight of Benin Coast, West Africa |
| title_sort | morphodynamics and evolution of estuarine sandspits along the bight of benin coast west africa |
| topic | estuarine systems river mouth tidal inlet longshore sediment transport morphodynamics satellite image analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/21/2977 |
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