Monitoring of Tidal Datum Consistency for Nwaniba River in the Niger Delta

Abstract

This research examines the consistency of the value of tidal datum obtained for Nwaniba River in Akwa Ibom State of the Niger Delta (Nigeria). Two sets of tidal data from 10/05/2007-10/06/2007 and 10/05/2017-10/06/2017 observed three times a day (Morning: 7: 30-9: 30; afternoon: 12: 00-14: 00 and evening: 16: 00-18: 00) at every 2 minutes interval were considered in order to evaluate a trend. Mean Highest Water Level (MHWL), Mean Lowest Water Level (MLWL) and Mean Water Level (MWL) for the three times per day were computed. The weekly MHWL and MLWL for each of the 5 week; average MHWL and MLWL for the 5 weeks were also computed. The water level measured within (10/05/2017-10/06/2017) is higher than that of (10/05/2007-10/06/2007) except in few cases. The highest (149.000 cm) and lowest (1.80 cm) water levels for 2007 observation were recorded on 08/06/2007 at (08: 40) and on 10/05/2007 at (7: 46) and 23/05/2007 at (8: 28) respectively; while the highest (152.300 cm) and lowest (1.801 cm) water levels for 2017 observation were recorded on 15/05/2017 at (07: 53) and on 27/05/2017 at (9: 08) and on 08/06/2017 at (08: 32) respectively. The observed Lowest Water Level (LWL) of 1.800 cm was adopted as the tidal datum for Nwaniba River in 2007. The observed LWL for 2017 is 1.801 cm; and the difference between the 2017 LWL and 2007 LWL which is (δLWL) is 0.001 cm. The value of (δLWL) = 0.001 cm shows that the value of LWL of 1.800 cm adopted in 2007 as the tidal datum still remains consistent when compared to the observed LWL of 1.801 cm for 2017 observations. Based on the LWL obtained for 2007 and 2017, it can be concluded that the tidal datum for Nwaniba River is consistent from 2007 to 2017. Also, based on the difference between average MWL for 2007 and 2017 = (δMWL) = 1.247 cm, it can be concluded that the water level at Nwaniba River has increased with 1.247 cm for the period of observation. In addition, the range of values of R2 obtained is 0.000-0.046 i.e. 5 %, which shows that only 5 % of the variation in MHWL and MLWL can only be attributed to the variation in time.