Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
NIGER DELTA
CROSS RIVER
ESTUARY
BONNY RIVER
ESTUARY
Fig. 1
Satellite imagery of south Nigeria showing location of Bonny and Cross River estuaries
the dry season between November and February, when the
cT air mass is dominant, very low mean monthly rainfalls of
between 5 and 32 mm are experienced. Temperatures are
high to very high throughout the year (averaging 30 C)
because of the abundant and consistent insolation experi-
enced throughout the year. However, because of the mari-
time location of the Bonny and Cross River estuaries,
temperatures are tempered down between November and
February. Minimum temperatures of between 24 and 25 C
are observed in July and August. The distribution of relative
humidity in the Bonny and Cross River estuaries is deter-
mined to a large extent by the two major seasons (wet and
dry). During the dry season, a marked difference is noticed
with relative humidity less than 60 % in the mornings and
less than 40 % in the afternoons.
The rainy season is experienced between March and
October when the maritime air mass (mT) predominates.
Very high mean monthly rainfalls of between 220 and
460 mm are experienced. High temperatures of about 30 C
are also experienced during this season; however, between
July and August relatively low temperatures of between 24
and 26 C are noted. Maximum wind speeds of between 10
and 14 m/s characterize this season, while minimum wind
speeds
humidity during the rainy season could peak to more than
80 % in the mornings and more than 60 % in the after-
noons. Thus, in the Bonny and Cross River areas, the values
of relative humidity are very high throughout the year.
Bonny Estuary
Setting and Morphology
The Bonny estuary (Fig. 3 ) is located on the immediate
eastern flank of the Niger Delta between longitudes 700 0
and 715 0 E and latitudes 425 0 and 450 0 (Figs. 1 and 3 ).
The strategic location of the estuary serves as an entrance
point to the Port Harcourt, Onne and Okirika ports in Rivers
State. Immediately east of the estuary is the Bonny barrier
island. The mouth of the estuary is jointly shared by the
Cawthrone channel and the New Calabar River. The width
of the mouth of the estuary is over 13.8 km and drains a
total area of 621,351 km 2 . It has an estimated area of
206 km 2
and extends 7 km offshore to a depth of about
7.5 m.
The topography of the area is flat and consists mainly of
swamps and flood plains. The dominant island around the
of
about
5 m/s
are
also
experienced.
Relative
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