Spatio-Temporal Geomorphic Landscape Dynamics and Possible Geological Hazards in Ghana

The recent deteriorating nature of the Mile 11 hills has
made the area a potential geo-hazard zone given the extent of
human activities and the level of excavations on-going. The study
sought to investigate the extent of landscape change and possible
geological hazards between 1986 and 2016. It adopted the
exploratory sequential design and the mixed research
methodology. The study used spatial cartographic tools (GIS and
Remote Sensing) to examine the extent of landscape change as
well as interviewed 32 participants (residents and experts) for the
qualitative analysis through the purposive sampling method. The
results confirmed the landscape was undergoing both
degradation and depositional geomorphic changes. About
56.11% of the landscape underwent degradation while 43.89%
underwent deposition. Geomorphic change in the municipality
was largely due to anthropogenic change rather than geological
changes which were evidence by the activities of urbanisation,
sand winning and quarrying on-going in the area, posing
potential geo-hazard risk to residents in the area. The major
factors found to be responsible for landscape change included
geological, meteorological, and anthropogenic factors. Possible
geological hazards envisaged included earth quake, landscape
influenced flooding and mudflow. It was recommended that
hazard prone areas should also be zoned and residents relocated
to prevent future fatalities. Proper coordination was also
recommended between traditional land owners, EPA, GGSA and
GSMA to enhance proper planning in the municipality.