Assessment of the Evolution of Cameroon Coastline: An Overview from 1986 to 2015

The coast of Cameroon is located at the bottom of the Gulf of Guinea with varied nearshore environments and oceanic forcing influenced by the presence of several islands. It is also the area of important river flows. Here, the global evolution of the Cameroonian coastline and hydrodynamic between 1986 and 2015 is investigated using satellite images and ECMWF Eralnterim re-analysis wave data. Seven areas of important cross-shore changes have been identified with only one case of human-induced variation that corresponds to the construction of a new habour at Kribi. This paper presents the results of using SYMPHONIE model with DOUALA26 configuration to assess the changes in Cameroon estuaries. The other areas are mainly located at the mouths of the rivers and at the entrance of Cameroon and Rio Del Rey esruaries. The results of the circulation model show that the convergence of Wouri, Dibamba river flows and littoral drift corresponds to the accumulation of sediments observed at Souleyba, while the eroded area at Cap Cameroun corresponds to the estuary output current. This work provides an understanding of erosive or accretive coastal processes using barotropic currents modeling in estuaries.