Analysis of Shoreline Change along Cape Coast-Sekondi Coast, Ghana

The two most important factors constantly impinging on the net movement of shorelines are erosion and accretion. This study analyzed the role of erosion and accretion in shoreline changes along the coast between Cape Coast and Sekondi in the central and western regions of Ghana, respectively. Aerial photographs, satellite images, and topographical maps were used. In addition, field survey using Global Positioning System (GPS) was conducted at selected locations due to the unavailability of satellite image for 2013. Shoreline change analysis was conducted using Digital Shoreline Analysis Systems based on End Point Rate formula. In addition, community interactions were also conducted to get first-hand information from the local inhabitants. The study finds that the shoreline under study has been fluctuating. The sea advanced inland between 1972 and 2005, which is attributed mainly to intense erosion. The study further reveals that, in the past five years, the shoreline had been retreating mainly due to increased accretion. It is recommended that the shoreline under study should be monitored regularly to keep abreast with net movements that will occur in either the short term or the long term so as to factor the net effect into the management of the coastal zone.

Wealth, Health, and Inequality: Households Exposure to Environmental Hazards

This study examined the geographies of ecological hazards in the “Garden City” of West Africa, Kumasi. The data collection involved questionnaire survey of 300 households using proportional representative sample of residential communities. This was complemented with 6 focus group discussions and 12 in-depth interviews with officers involved in environmental management. The results show that the disparities in household exposure to environmental hazards were not only skewed towards the economically deprived communities but were also disproportionately biased against the indigenous communities. The research views this development as an indication of poor urban environmental management and confirms how lack of holistic environmental planning has led to injustice in the exposure to environmental hazards. We argue that a proper environmental management framework has to be developed to correct the inequalities in order to guarantee social cohesion within the entire urban space.

Nexus between Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining and Livelihood in Prestea Mining Region, Ghana

Drawing on the DFID’s sustainable livelihood framework, this paper explores the nexus between artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and livelihood in Prestea mining region, Ghana. A cross-sectional mixed method survey involving simple random and purposively sampled participants (N=151) was carried out. The results suggest both positive and negative relationships between ASM and livelihoods of the people. The study found various livelihood assets associated with ASM and how critical assets are adversely affected by ASM activities. Limited employment opportunities in rural areas (82%), economic hardships/poverty situations of people (59%), and “quick” income earnings from ASM (90%) were the major factors that influenced people to combine and use their personal assets to enable them to engage in ASM. ASM contributes to the livelihood enhancement through income generation, increased well-being and asset acquisition (50.7%), reduced vulnerabilities (31.1%), and empowerment of people (19.2%) to establish other economic activities. However, the small-scale miners and farmers as well as farmlands, forest, and water resources are most vulnerable to adverse effects of ASM activities. Accidents of various degrees, diseases, and death were the shocks in ASM. Regarding the massive impact of ASM on employment creation and poverty reduction in rural communities, it is recommended that stakeholders recast Ghana’s mineral policy to ensure concurrent environmental sustainability and socioeconomic development.

Ground-Truthing Validation to Assess the Effect of Facility Locational Error on Cumulative Impacts Screening Tools

Researchers and government regulators have developed numerous tools to screen areas and populations for cumulative impacts and vulnerability to environmental hazards and risk. These tools all rely on secondary data maintained by government agencies as part of the regulatory and permitting process. Stakeholders interested in cumulative impacts screening results have consistently questioned the accuracy and completeness of some of these datasets. In this study, three cumulative impacts screening tools used in California were compared, and ground-truth validation was used to determine the effect database inaccuracy. Ground-truthing showed substantial locational inaccuracy and error in hazardous facility databases and statewide air toxics emission inventories of up to 10 kilometers. These errors resulted in significant differences in cumulative impact screening scores generated by one screening tool, the Environmental Justice Screening Method.

Geotechnical Distinction of Landslides Induced by Near-Field Earthquakes in Niigata, Japan

Landslides triggered by near-field earthquakes with epicentres directly beneath towns have attracted intense attention since the 2004 Mid-Niigata (Niigata-ken Chuetsu) Earthquake. Hilly and mountainous areas sustained heavy damage. Social problems developed when many towns became isolated because landslides cut off traffic and public service lifelines. Soil from landslides closed river channels and formed natural dams. The natural dams submerged some towns. Emergency measures were undertaken promptly to prevent debris flows caused by natural dam breaks. Subsequently, the 2007 Mid-Niigata Offshore (Niigata-ken Chuetsu-oki) Earthquake and the 2011 Northern Nagano Earthquake struck the Niigata region. Landslides triggered by those earthquakes differed in terms of their number, scale, and location. Therefore, characteristics of the landslide sites of the respective earthquakes were examined to ascertain their topographical and geological features. Furthermore, differences in groundwater level and damage related to compound disasters were explained for discussion of the stability progress of damaged slopes.

Public Perception of Climate Change in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

This study was designed to assess the public perception of climate change in Yenagoa. The sample survey method was adopted, which involved the administration of 360 questionnaires to randomly selected households. The results showed that 43.33% of respondents lack adequate knowledge of climate change. Further interview revealed that 55.3% of the respondents are unaware that carbon dioxide (CO2) is the major greenhouse gas, contributing about 55% to global warming. It was revealed that respondents’ major sources of information on climate change were personal experience and television (66.33%). Also, 48.7% of the respondents believed that one of the major natural causes of climate change is divine providence. The study also revealed that there were significant variations in respondents’ perception of the causes, potential impacts, and mitigation strategies of climate change. The variations were attributable to differences in educational status and sources of information on climate change by respondents. The study concluded that the level of knowledge of the people was inadequate. Therefore, all stakeholders should step-up mass education and information sharing on the causes, potential impacts, and mitigation strategies of climate change.

Geographic Concerns on Flood Climate and Flood Hydrology in Monsoon-Dominated Damodar River Basin, Eastern India

In the Lower Gangetic Plain of West Bengal, the furious monsoon flood of Damodar River is a recurrent hydrometeorological phenomenon which is now intensified by the human activities. At present, the flood regulation system of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) is not capable of managing gigantic inflow water (which appeared as surface runoff and channel flow) coming from the wide fan-shaped upper catchment of Damodar River. As a result, the lower basin of Damodar (covering Barddhaman, Hooghly, and Howrah districts of West Bengal) annually experiences low to high magnitude of floods and overflow condition because the existing canal system, streams, palaeochannels, and Damodar River itself have lost their former carrying capacity to accommodate all excess water within its active domain due to over siltation and drainage congestion. So when the DVC dams are not able to regulate flood flow, then extreme rainfall of prolonged duration over the basin turns the normal situation into devastating flood, like the years of 1978 and 2000 in West Bengal. Identifying the existing problems of lower Damodar River, this paper principally tries to assess the potentiality of flood climate and to estimate the contributing rainfall-runoff, peak discharge, and existing carrying capacity of river in relation to increasing flood risk of lower basin using the quantitative hydrologic expressions.

Rapid Urban Expansion and Its Implications on Geomorphology: A Remote Sensing and GIS Based Study

Topography, vegetation, climate, water table, and even the anthropogenic activities all are affected by urban growth through diverse mechanisms. The present study focuses on the implications of urban expansion on geomorphology in the historical city of Gwalior in central India. The expansion of urban area has been quantified by deriving data for four decades (1972–2013) from the Landsat images. The results show that the urban built-up area has increased by 08.48 sq. km during the first eighteen years (1972–1990) which has increased to 16.28 sq. km during the next sixteen years (1990–2006). The built-up area has gone up to 23.19 sq. km in the next seven years (2006–2013). Overall during the last 40 years the growth of the urban built-up is nearly three times of the built-up areas in 1972. The average decadal growth rate of population is 27.28 percent while that of built-up land is 36.29 percent. The construction activities have affected important geomorphic features such pediplain, buried pediplain, residual hills, and denudational hills. It was concluded that, instead of shortsighted urban development, proper measures should be taken in accordance with scientific planning for the urban expansion of the city in the future.

Searching for the Determinants of Climate Change Interest

A meaningful CO2 mitigation policy is unlikely at the national level in the United States. What is currently happening and what is much more likely to occur in the future are city and regional level efforts of mitigation and adaptation. This paper aims to understand the geographic and socioeconomic characteristics of metropolitan areas and regions that lead to engagement with the issue of climate change. We use geographically explicit, internet search data from Google to measure information seeking behavior, which we interpret as engagement, attention, and interest. Our spatial Hot Spot analysis creates a map that potentially could be harnessed by policymakers to gauge mitigation support or adaptation potential. The results of our multivariate analysis suggest that socioeconomic factors are the strongest determinants of search behavior and that climate and geography have little to no impact. With regard to political ideology, we find evidence of a nonlinear, inverse-U relationship with maximum search activity occurring in metropolitan areas with a near even political split, suggesting that parity may be good for engagement.

Deposition and Mineralogical Characteristics of Atmospheric Dust in relation to Land Use and Land Cover Change in Delhi (India)

This study highlights that the increasing urbanization and industrialization in Delhi are responsible for higher fluxes of atmospheric dust and its chemical constituents. Delhi has experienced a drastic change in land use and land cover area during the past two decades. Road lengths of the city have increased by 76% from 1985 to 2011. The number of mobile vehicles has reached 80,52,508 in 2014 from 24,32,295 in 1994. The industrial units in Delhi have increased by 39.54% in 2011 as compared to 1994 value. Atmospheric dust which is originated from soil in this region becomes carbon rich due to interaction of suspended soil with atmospheric pollutants. Emissions of carbonaceous aerosols from coal and petroleum combustions are mainly responsible for silica dominated soil dust transforming into carbon rich particulate matter. Such dust may play very important role in the atmosphere having significant influence on human health, global warming, climate change, radiative forcing, visibility, and cloud formation. It is expected that if the rate of development remains the same, green cover of the city invariably will be sized down in order to meet the demand of housing, transportation, industries, and so forth in proportion to the rising population.