Led
by Prof. D.I. Nwankwo
The
field trip was held on the 29th August 2012 and was led by Professor
D.I Nwankwo, at which we departed at exactly 9:47am through the University of
Lagos Lagoon jetty.
The field work was at Tarkwa bay which
lies at Lagos Island Nigeria and its geographical co-ordinates are 60 24
10’’ North, 300 23’’ 39’’ East. The
Ave. elevation (DEM) 11m (36ft)
Time
zone: Africa/ Lagos UTC/GMT + 01:00’
(According
to Google 3D map).
The place is inhabited by the three main
tribes of Nigeria, the Hausas, Ibos and Yorubas and their main means of survival
are through fishing, boating, and tourism and mini trades.
At the field trip Professor D.I. Nwankwo
taught us that Tarkwa bay is the only bay in Nigeria and it is an artificial
bay (man-made) (a bay is a body of water surrounded by Land, a bay is the
opposite of a peninsula), it was constructed by the Nigerian government to
protect the Apapa wharf from wave action because waves are induced by wind. The
government also created a mole to protect the jetty from getting shallow
because when it is shallow there is no way ships can enter, it only berth’s
there.
We have three types
of moles, which are;
1. Victoria
mole
2. East
mole
3. Training
mole
The
Western mole faces the sea. According to professor Nwankwo, the sea have 3
conditions, they are
1. The
sea must have no birds on it
2. It
must be free from debris
3. It
must be blue.
Mangroves
found at the bay are the;
White
mangrove- langucularia avicennia
Red
mangrove- Rhizophora mangle,
Rhizophora racemosa and rhizophora Harriosoni.
Black
mangrove- Avicennia Africana
Red
mangrove acts as a barrier which possess a pneumatophore(breathing root).
Black
mangrove props out it root.
The
lagoon is just like a sink where Lagoons from other state flush into, that’s
the reason why it has this brownish colouration and contains a lot of debris.
Sand from bar beach deposits at Tarkwa bay and its causes aggregation. Eco-Atlantic
city was created by the Nigeria government because Tarkwa bay was protruding
into the sea; it is the part facing the sea.
Tarkwa
bay is so sandy that plant can’t grow on it, except for insects that burrow
into it; the insects are called the sand binders, because they transform the
sandy soil into land with the aid of their humus and holds the sand together.
The fine sand is also much more
comfortable to walk and lie on, Tarkwa bay is the only maintained beach in
Lagos, it is only accessible by boat, it also has a safe bathing even for
children.
It
was a pleasant outing.
