TIDEKIT Project Team Hosts 3rd Geophysics-Academia Industry Meeting (G-AIM) on Coastal Resilience Research
On Wednesday 18th June 2025, the TIDEKIT project team in the Department of Physics convened a progress meeting under the umbrella of the 3rd Geophysics Academia Industry Meeting that brought together researchers, collaborators, students, and community stakeholders at the College of Science Tek Boardroom and online. The meeting was chaired by the Provost of the College of Science, Prof Leonard Amekudzi who delivered opening remarks emphasizing the relevance of collaborative research in addressing climate and coastal challenges in Ghana.
Ms. Esi Aduku, the project administrator welcomed all participants. This was followed by a welcome address and progress update by Dr. Cyril. Dr. Boateng highlighted key achievements of the TIDEKIT project so far, including three successful field campaigns in November 2024, January 2025, and March 2025. These campaigns featured innovative techniques such as time-lapse Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) to monitor saltwater intrusion and UAV-based monitoring to assess shoreline morphodynamics.
Additionally, the team is setting up three meteorological stations and tidal gauges in the project area to collect essential atmospheric and oceanographic data. Other key achievements include a paper accepted for publication in Nature Scientific Reports and presentations at several academic conferences. Furthermore, under capacity building, two PhDs and 4 MPhil students are currently being funded under the project.
Beyond scientific research, the TIDEKIT project has also made significant strides in community engagement and education. Climate clubs have been established at Fuveme Basic School and Keta Senior High Technical School to raise awareness on coastal erosion and climate change. The team also organized a coastal cleanup exercise with students, reinforcing the importance of environmental stewardship.
Dr. Elena McCarthy, Science Director, Office of Naval Research-Global, major funders of the project, expressed her profound admiration for the team’s achievements, and applauding the synergy between science, outreach, and communication.
Internal team members, Dr. Edem Donkor and Dr. Akyana Britwum, also shared their reflections, underscoring how the project has deepened their research experiences while contributing to tangible community impact.
A keynote address was delivered by Dr. Selasi Yao Avornyo of the University of Ghana. His presentation focused on land subsidence and sea-level rise (SLR) in the Volta Delta, highlighting critical knowledge gaps and the urgent need for ground-truth data. His research revealed significant subsidence rates in flat low-lying areas such as the Keta and Songaw Lagoons, classifying the Volta Delta as a “subsiding delta.” Dr. Avornyo advocated for regional collaboration and an open-data policy to improve research quality and data accessibility in Ghana.
The meeting also featured student presentations highlighting research results from their ongoing work, spanning machine learning for flood prediction, geophysical investigations, and coastal hazard monitoring. The TIDEKIT project continues to demonstrate how integrative research, community outreach, and data-driven policy can work together to build resilience along Ghana’s vulnerable coastlines
