Proceedings of the 2nd (Hybrid) International Conference, Faculty of Social Sciences, Niger Delta University, Held on March 13, 2024
March, 2024
Pages 11-27
DOI: 10.36108/wjss/ConfP.2024.002
GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS OF LONG-TERM SHORELINE CHANGES AT SELECTED SETTLEMENTS IN BRASS LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA
Ebifuro Odubo and Horsfall Digieneni Eli
Abstract
The aim of this study is to assess shoreline changes, to improve understanding of shoreline change trends and the corresponding changes in land (both gained and lost) along the shorelines of Sangana, Brass, and Okpoama settlements in the Brass local government area of Bayelsa state, Nigeria, from 1990 to 2020, a period of 30 years. The study employed a natural experiment quasi-experimental research design and utilized multiple spatio-temporal landsat satellite data set of 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. The study adopted the Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques for data analysis. The GIS analyses involved the application of the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) in ArcGIS 10.8.2 to identify, quantify, and assess changes in shoreline positions using the End Point Rate (EPR) statistics. Concurrently, land gained and lost were determined through the measure analysis in GIS. The outcomes of the long-term shoreline change, as indicated by EPR results along the shorelines of Sangana, Brass, and Okpoama settlements, revealed statistically significant erosion values of 100%, 70.9%, and 100%, respectively. This suggests that erosion is the prevailing phenomenon along the shorelines of these settlements all through the study period. The average erosion rates for the respective settlements were documented as -3.05m/year, -1.93m/year, and -3.49m/year for Sangana, Brass, and Okpoama. In light of these findings, the study recommends, among other measures, the development and implementation of coastal zone management for the region.
Keywords: Geographic Information System, End Point Rate, Digital Shoreline Analysis System, Shoreline, Spatio-temporal
.