Keta in the Volta region of Ghana has for long battled with coastline retreat, coastal erosion and floods.

These have led to the loss of lives and property. Monuments like Fort Prinzenstein, a UNESCO World Heritage site, have also been battered.

Fortunately, a project dubbed: Protecting the coast and heritage of Keta using integrated geophysical methods (TIDEKIT PROJECT) aims to manage coastal erosion in the Keta area of Ghana.

The project combines various scientific techniques such as remote sensing, GIS, geophysical surveys, machine learning, and low-cost instrumentation to realise objectives.

Unveiling the project at KNUST, Project lead, Dr. Cyril Boateng, said the need for a low-cost system to measure the water levels of tides “provides a solution to a lack of financial resources to purchase expensive sensors currently existing on the market.”

“Furthermore, designing and operationalizing an early warning system for tidal waves using mobile phone technology is unique and will help save lives and property,” he added.

It is envisaged that the project funded by the Office of Naval Research, USA and Office of Naval Research Global, London, will help protect coastal communities and infrastructure from the damaging effects of flooding by providing timely alerts to coastal residents when flooding is imminent.

Science Director for Maritime Domain Awareness, Office of Naval Research Global, London, Dr. Elena McCarthy said: “The Navy is interested in what happens in coastal environments because that’s where we operate. We have bases all over the world in coastal regions, so we’re concerned with climate change like many organizations.”

Dr. Emily Shroyer of the Office of Naval Research in Washington, DC, added: “My job is to mainly fund research on ocean sciences in the US but Ocean sciences is a global science and relies on our collaborations with researchers all over the world.”

A PhD and 3 Masters students, and undergraduates will also benefit from the project.