Water Quality Status Within The Anchorage Space of Tema Harbour, Ghana

Marine pollution is attributable to anthropogenic introductions of contaminants above their natural background levels and being dispersed by ocean forcing. Assemblages of vessels within offshore platforms and seaport terminals could also be potential sources for marine water contamination. As such, nearshore perimeters of the Tema Port were assessed to review the vessel register and the seawater quality through Automatic Identification System (AIS), in-situ and laboratory analysis. The results of analysed satellite data suggested ~1,600 commercial vessels of over 50 flag states including Ghana were present in the West Africa territorial waters between 2016 and 2020. Bacterial load shows the following order: total heterotrophic bacterial [THB] (364-468 cfu/mL) > total coliform [TC] (26-73 cfu/100 mL) > faecal coliform [FC] (1-13 cfu/100 mL). Phytoplankton species abundances were in order Ceratium spp. (31.8%) >Protoperidinium spp. (30.1%) > Dinophysis spp. (9.3%) > Coscinodiscus sp. (7.3%) > Lingulodinium polyedra (6.9%) = Nitzschia sp. (6.9%). Water temperature ranged between 23.9 and 27.5 oC (surface to 25.4 m depth), salinity 36.03 ± 0.51‰, dissolved oxygen 6.54 ± 0.94 mg/L and pH 8.18 ± 0. 06. Phosphate, ammonia, Cd, As, and Pb levels were low (0.01 to 0.153 mg/L). Nitrate, silicate and Mg were relatively high (0.7 - 2.18 mg/L). Pearson correlation coefficient displayed 0.05 and 0.01 significant levels between total dissolved solids (TDS) and electrical conductivity and salinity, and dissolved oxygen and temperature and arsenic levels. Normalization physicochemical data suggested thermal stratification at 15 m depth. Nutrient and biological results indicated normal water quality conditions, however, relatively high levels of phytoplankton including harmful and toxic species suggested excess nutrient contamination in the study area. Further assessment is recommended to ascertain the link between phytoplankton and nutrient load at the anchorage space.&nbsp

An Integrated Assessment of the Ecological Health Status of Coastal Aquatic Ecosystems of Ada in Ghana

This paper aims at assessing the ecological health status of aquatic ecosystems in the coastal area of Ada in Ghana. Healthy aquatic ecosystems are characterized by high species diversity, good water and habitat quality among others. An ecological assessment was conducted to describe the landuse pattern, water quality and habitat quality of critical aquatic ecosystems. Physicochemical parameters of water were monitored for three months each in the dry and wet seasons. Biological components which composed of macroinvertebrate and aquatic macrophyte were studied to determine the biodiversity status. The results revealed that 70% of the sampled aquatic ecosystems have concentrations of water parameters within the limits of natural background levels. However, the concentrations of nitrates and phosphates were significantly higher than the recommended World Health Organization (WHO) standards for healthy aquatic ecosystems. With regards to landuse and habitat quality, seventy percent (70%) of the sampled ecosystems were found to be in poor condition. Increasing effort on awareness programmes is needed to improve community participation to ensure proper disposal of domestic and industrial waste

Multi-decadal shoreline changes in Eastern Ghana—natural dynamics versus human interventions

Human infrastructures, such as dams, seawalls, and ports, can affect both the sedimentary budget and nearshore hydrodynamics, enhancing and accelerating the loss or gain of coastal sediments. Understanding the processes and factors controlling beach morphodynamics is essential for implementing adequate adaptation strategies in coastal areas, particularly in those regions where coastal protection measures are scarce. This study analyzes shoreline changes in the Keta Municipal District, located in southeastern Ghana (West Africa). This area is characterized by the sedimentary input of the Volta River, forming a river delta situated to the west, i.e., updrift, of our study site. Following the construction of two dams (Akosombo and Kpong) on the Volta River in 1965 and 1982, groins and revetments have been built along the coast between 2005 and 2015 to reduce the high rates of coastal erosion in this area. Here, we explore the influence of these dams and the hard protection constructions on beach morphodynamics using historical maps and satellite images complemented by a shoreline survey undertaken with a differential GNSS in 2015. The multi-decadal evolution between 1913 and 2015 reconstructed for 90 km of shoreline suggests that local erosion rates in the region predate the construction of the two dams on the Volta River, indicating that these structures might not be the primary driver of coastal erosion in this area, as previously suggested. We emphasize that delta dynamics under conditions of high-energy longshore drift, modified by anthropogenic drivers such as sand mining, play a key role in the long-term evolution of this coast. Our results also show that the infrastructures built to halt coastal erosion result in localized erosion and accretion down-current along the coastline towards the border with Togo, highlighting the need for a transnational perspective in addressing the problems caused by coastal erosion

Comparative analysis of the socio-economic characteristics of Delta and Non-Delta spaces of Ghana: An input-output approach

This paper provides insights into the current socioeconomic and biophysical state of the Volta Delta, Ghana. We employed non-survey methods, notably the Flegg Location Quotient (FLQ) method of regionalization and construction of tables to develop environmentally extended input-output (IO) model for comparing the economic characteristics of the Volta Delta and the rest of the country. The main sources of data for doing the regionalization were District Analytical Reports. Results from the study indicate that the agricultural sector, trade and transport activities are much predominant in the delta than in the non-delta region. However, employment in services of public administration, financial and insurance, construction and crop production is higher in the non-delta than in the delta region. From a gendered perspective, the embodied work of women in the delta is high in services and manufacturing sectors, but less predominant in agriculture and fishing (compared to the males’ participation). Overall, the delta is found to be a net importer (embodied in goods and services from other regions, higher than in exports) of all the economic metrics used in the study, including agricultural land use, employment, energy and CO2 emissions.Keywords: Economic activities; Volta delta; Non-delta; Land use; Employment; Sector productions; Ghan

The ability of societies to adapt to twenty-first-century sea-level rise

Against the background of potentially substantial sea-level rise, one important question is to what extent are coastal societies able to adapt? This question is often answered in the negative by referring to sinking islands and submerged megacities. Although these risks are real, the picture is incomplete because it lacks consideration of adaptation. This Perspective explores societies' abilities to adapt to twenty-first-century sea-level rise by integrating perspectives from coastal engineering, economics, finance and social sciences, and provides a comparative analysis of a set of cases that vary in terms of technological limits, economic and financial barriers to adaptation and social conflicts

Identifying ecosystem-based alternatives for the design of a seaports marine infrastructure : The case of tema port expansion in Ghana

Long-term sustainable port development requires accounting for the intrinsic values of ecosystems. However, in practice, ecosystem considerations often only enter the planning and design process of ports when required by an Environmental Impact Assessment. At this late stage, most of the design is already fixed and opportunities to minimize and restore ecosystem impacts are limited. In this paper, we adopt a large-scale, ecosystem perspective on port development with the aim to identify ecosystem-based design alternatives earlier and throughout the planning and design of a port's marine infrastructure. We present a framework, termed the 'ecosystem-based port design hierarchy' (EPDH), to identify ecosystem-based alternatives at four hierarchical design levels: 1) alternatives to port developments, 2) port site selection, 3) port layout design, and 4) design of structures and materials. In applying the EPDH framework retrospectively to a case study of port expansion in Tema, Ghana, we establish that ecosystem considerations played only a limited role in identifying and evaluating alternatives at all four design levels in the case study, whereas more eco-friendly alternatives in terms of port layouts, structures, and materials are identified using the EPDH framework. This reveals that opportunities for ecosystem-friendly port designs may have been missed and demonstrates the need for and the potential added value of our framework. The framework can assist practitioners in earlier and wider identification of ecosystem-based alternatives for a port's marine infrastructure in future seaport developments and, hence, represents an important step towards more sustainable port designs.</p