Determination of a Section of Woji Riverbed Depths for Safe Navigation

Abstract

The depths of the oceans, seas, rivers, etc. and charting the shape and topography of the ocean floor are only determined though bathymetric processes. And mariners primarily depend on water depths beneath their vessels for safe navigation. Bathymetry also goes a long way to enhance the identification of possible features on the seabed such as elevation changes, rock outcrop, wreckages, sunken vessels, pipeline, or any other obstructions that could cause hazard to navigation. This study employs the bathymetric principles to determine river-bed depths of a section of the Woji River for the purpose of creating a two-dimensional view of the underlying sub-surface and a threedimensional model of the river-bed, to enhance safe navigation. Data acquisition was done using satellite imagery from Google Earth, total tide prediction data, sounding depths using Midas echo sounder and GPS data. Data processing performed on observed bathymetric data include spike removal, tidal correction on instantaneous depths. The processed depths were analysed and presented in form of profile view, graphs, and charts. A flow and sedimentation simulation was carried out using ArcGIS 10.3, to show the nature of the river. The tidal data aided in sounding reduction, and river average depth of 6.022m was obtained. The levelling mis-closure was 0.001m and the average variation in echo sounder calibration was 0.08m. Based on the acquired and output data, the produced chart revealed sedimentation effect on the convex coastline, uneven riverbed topography possibly due to sand excavation, which could pose serious danger to the safety of navigation. Based on these results, the use of Sub-Bottom Profiler and a Multi-Beam Echo Sounder (MBES) is therefore recommended in order to improve the quality of data obtained.