1st Edition

Sediments in the Tema Harbour (Ghana) Chemical Pollution and Sedimentation Rates

By Benjamin Botwe Copyright 2018

    Sediment pollution and accumulation in harbours are major environmental issues and studies that advance their solutions are essential for harbour sustainability. This book provides the first comprehensive assessment of chemical pollution in sediments and sediment accumulation rates in the tropical Tema Harbour (Ghana). This book contributes to improving our ability to use an integrated approach involving sediment chemistry and bioassays in one comprehensive assessment of the contamination state of a tropical coastal environment. Whole-sediment toxicity bioassays using the amphipod Corophium volutator and the polychaete Hediste diversicolor as bioindicators were combined with data on concentrations of total metal and metal binding forms, radionuclides, organochlorine pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in bottom sediments as well as total metal concentrations in settling silt-clay particles collected by sediment traps to characterise the hazard, risk and impact of sediments from the tropical coastal Tema Harbour.

    Chapter 1 - General Introduction
    1.1. Background of this study
    1.2. Research approach
    1.3. Structure of this thesis

    Chapter 2 - Literature Review
    2.1. Chemical pollution in coastal marine environments
    2.2. Types and effects of chemical pollutants in coastal marine environments
    2.3. Sources of chemical pollutants in coastal marine environments
    2.4. Fate of chemical pollutants in coastal marine environments
    2.5. Assessment of chemical pollution in coastal marine environments
    2.6. Sedimentation in harbours
    2.7. Conclusions

    Chapter 3 - Radioactivity Concentrations and their Radiological Significance in Sediments of the Tema Harbour (Greater Accra, Ghana)
    3.1. Introduction
    3.2. Materials and Methods
    3.3. Results and discussion
    3.4. Conclusions

    Chapter 4 - Assessment of DDT, HCH and PAH Contamination and Associated Ecotoxicological Risks in Surface Sediments of Coastal Tema Harbour (Ghana)
    4.1. Introduction
    4.2. Materials and methods
    4.3. Results
    4.4. Discussion
    4.5. Conclusion

    Chapter 5 - Metal Distribution and Fractionation in Surface Sediments of Coastal Tema Harbour (Ghana) and its Ecological Implications
    5.1. Introduction
    5.2. Materials and methods
    5.3. Results
    5.4. Discussion
    5.5. Conclusions

    Chapter 6 - Integrated Hazard, Risk and Impact Assessment of Tropical Marine Sediments from Tema Harbour (Ghana)
    6.1. Introduction
    6.2. Materials and methods
    6.3. Results
    6.4. Discussion
    6.5. Conclusion

    Chapter 7 - Settling Fluxes and Sediment Accumulation Rates by the Combined Use of Sediment Traps and Sediment Cores in Tema Harbour (Ghana)
    7.1. Introduction
    7.2. Materials and methods
    7.3. Results and discussion
    7.4. Conclusions

    Chapter 8 - Settling Fluxes and Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment of Fine Sedimentary Metals in Tema Harbour (Ghana)
    8.1. Introduction
    8.2. Materials and methods
    8.3. Results
    8.4. Discussion
    8.5. Conclusions

    Chapter 9 - General discussion and conclusions
    9.1. Sediment pollution and accumulation in habours
    9.2. General conclusions

    Biography

    Benjamin O. Botwe is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences, University of Ghana, where teaches introductory courses in oceanography, limnology, aquatic ecology, marine biogeochemistry and pollution. He holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Chemistry, with a specialization in Analytical/Environmental Chemistry. Currently, he is a PhD fellow at the UNESCO-IHE Institute of Water Education in Delft, The Netherland, where he belongs to the pollution prevention and control chair group. His research interest include coastal/marine pollution and ecotoxicological risk assessment, sediment/pollutant dynamics, metal and organic contaminant biogeochemistry, seafood contamination and human health risks assessment, water quality, environmental radioactivity and ocean acidification. He has several scientific publications including journal articles and book chapters and has participated in scientific conferences and workshops around the world.