Fluvial Processes of Nigerian Coast

The impact of Climate change on the coastal regions of the world is unprecedented; sea level rise
stimulates coastal flooding and the submergence of several coastal communities. The coast line is in
a constant flux, thus causing apparent confusion in the use of mean sea level as a reference point for
elevation. When the sea level rises due to global warming, the available land for cultivation and
human habitation generally shrinks further having negative implications on food security and human
survival. Communities inundated resulted in dislodging the population who has to be resettled.
Nigeria has a linear stretch of about 853 kilometers of coastline with numerous littoral settlements or
communities on shore line most of which are rural communities (71%). The littoral communities are
constantly being inundated by flooding from the Atlantic Ocean (cold flood) and the distributaries of
River Niger (warm flood). The sediments transported by the network of river channels are deposited
at the estuaries, lagoons and delta but when the sediments enter the open sea, different processes
take place and the sediments are either washed off the coast causing erosion of the coastline or
deposited on the coastal bend causing accretion in some areas along the coastline. The deposition of
sediments results in development of mud flat which after compaction becomes a potential site for new
fishing camps and later settlements. The rural coastal communities have developed different
adaptation strategies to tame the increasing inundation of their communities which is the thrust of this
study. This chapter presents the analysis of fluvial processes taking place in the transgressive mud
segment of the coast.