Bennet Foli

University of Ghana | Legon · Regional Marine Centre

This study investigated the historical and future wave power potential in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) with the aim of identifying high-density wave energy locations for potential exploitation. To estimate wave power density (WPD) for three time periods (past: 1979–2005, mid-century: 2026–2050, and end-century: 2081–2100), we utilized significant wave...

The marine and coastal environment of West Africa provide several resources and potential benefits to its people much as it presents numerous challenges and dangers that need to be addressed for sustainable exploitation of such resources. The need for projection of ocean waves is paramount to providing information for several purposes, including sa...

Ocean wave forecasting for West Africa has mostly relied on global parameterization schemes and data outputs. Investigating non-linear ocean wave-wave interaction source terms (Snl) for the region, that forms part of the wave model parameterization schemes, is a contribution of this study towards developing a regional wave modelling scheme for West...

Monitoring of the marine and coastal environment using standard measuring equipment is not without incurring a significant amount of cost. This study was geared at prospecting relatively inexpensive environmental monitoring instrument using the Raspberry Pi computer in combination with commonly available sensors. Atmospheric temperature, humidity,...

Ocean wind fields form a significant input to ocean wave models. This study evaluates the accuracy of two major reanalysis wind fields: NCEP-NCAR reanalysis-II (NNR-II) and ECMWF ERA5 wind datasets in the marine domain of West Africa. The objective is to identify the reanalysis data that best represents the wind regimes of the sub-region for use in...

Capacity development forms the core and contributes to the success and sustainability of every emerging field and technology. The use of Earth Observation (EO) space technology, though not new, requires a substantial amount of capacity for its sustainable application, especially in the West Africa sub-region, where knowledge of such technology and...

The marine and coastal resources of the West Africa region contribute immensely to the global economy as well as to the economies of countries in the region. The region boasts of two vibrant Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs), namely the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) and the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME), which provide v...

This study examines the recent changes in extreme rainfall events over Accra, Ghana. For this study, an extreme rainfall event is defined as a day with rainfall equal to or exceeding the 1980–2019 95th percentile. Knowing extreme rainfall events help to identify the years with the likelihood of rainfall-related disasters in Accra. In addition, it h...

The advent of satellite-derived sea surface salinity (SSS) measurements has boosted scientific study in less-sampled ocean regions such as the northwestern Gulf of Guinea (NWGoG). In this study, we examine the seasonal variability of SSS in the NWGoG from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite and show that it is well-suited for such reg...

Input and dissipation source terms contribute significantly to the projection of ocean wave properties in numerical wave models. They form an integral part of the wave energy balance equation. This study investigates the appropriate input-dissipation source terms (Sin-ds) that best estimate the significant wave heights and wave directions in the en...

Key Massage 1. Extreme events (droughts, floods, cyclones, marine heat waves) impacting Africa are linked to natural modes of variability in the ocean and amplified by climate change. 2. The Indian Ocean is warming faster than global oceans and will continue to warm even after emissions reach NetZero, having severe consequences on the African conti...

Shorelines and adjoining land remain an important site for the intensive interplay of socioeconomic development and natural processes. Unfortunately, the Lagos, Nigeria shoreline is always subjected to varied morphological changes in response to small (short term) and large-scale (long term) events as triggered by natural processes and human develo...

Ten trace and heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, As, Co, Cr and V) were analysed in sediments collected from nine stations at the Tema Port of Ghana, during the dry and wet seasons. Analysis of samples was done using INAA (instrumental neutron activation analysis) for Mn, V, Cu, As and Cd, and AAS (atomic absorption spectrophotometry) for Fe, Cr...

Cadmium (Cd), copper, (Cu), Iron (Fe), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) burdens were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) in two tropical fish species (Chloroscombrus chrysurus and Sardinella maderensis) from the western coast of Ghana. Fish samples were collected during three designated Sampling Periods (January 2008 to March 2008 - Per...

Concentrations of Ba, Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr, Hg and Zn were determined in deep-sea sediments of the Jubilee oil field of Ghana along three transects to assess the levels of contamination prior to the commencement of large scale oil and gas production in the Jubilee oil field. Concentrations of all metals were determined using Instrumental Neutron Activati...