Abstract
Regularities in processes of seawater intrusion into the rivers of Senegal, Saloum, Gambia, and Casamance in West Africa are analyzed. The seawater intrusion during the low-flow period, which is a common phenomenon for the lower reaches of these rivers, has taken on extreme features in the course of the severe drought that occurred in West Africa in the 1970s–1980s. The processes of progressing water salinization in estuaries under the impact of drastic reduction of atmospheric precipitation and river runoff, considerable evaporation water losses, and tides are described. Due consideration is given to the unique hydrological phenomenon, i.e., the so-called reverse estuary. The Senegal River mouth is taken as a case study of cyclic variations in runoff, water salinity, and distance of saltwater penetration into the river. Certain environmental consequences of water salinization are discussed using the Casamance River estuary as an example. Methods used in Africa to prevent seawater intrusion and salinization of estuaries harmful for the environment and economy are described in this article.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Atlas mirovogo vodnogo balansa. M.; (Atlas of World Water Balance), Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1974.
Atlas okeanov. Atlanticheskii i Indiiskii okeany (Atlas of Oceans. Atlantic and Indian Oceans), Leningrad: GUNIO MO SSSR, 1977.
Geograficheskii atlas (Geographic Atlas), Moscow: GUGK SSSR, 1980.
Geograficheskii entsiklopedicheskii slovar’ (Geographic Encyclopedia), Moscow: Bol’shaya Rossiiskaya entsiklopediya, 2003.
Isupova, M.V. and Mikhailov, V.N., Hydrological and Morphological Processes in Senegal River Mouth Area, Vodn. Resur., 2008, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 32–44 [Water Resour. (Engl. Transl.), vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 30–43].
McDowell, D.M. and O’Connor, B.A., Gidravlika prilivnykh ust’ev rek (Hydraulics Behaviour of Estuaries), Moscow: Energoatomizdat, 1983.
Mirovoi vodnyi balans i vodnye resursy Zemli (World Water Balance and Water Resources of the Earth), Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1974.
Mikhailov, V.N., Hydrological Regularities in Seawater Penetration into Rivers, in Gidrofizicheskie protsessy v rekakh, vodokhranilishchakh i okrainnykh moryakh (Hydrophysical Processes in Rivers, Reservoirs, and Marginal Seas), Moscow: Nauka, 1989, pp. 97–115.
Mikhailov, V.N., Gidrologicheskie protsessy v ust’yakh rek (Hydrological Processes in River Mouths), Moscow: GEOS, 1997.
Mikhailov, V.N., Gidrologiya ust’ev rek (River Mouth Hydrology), Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 1998.
Mikhailov, V.N. and Povalishnikova, E.S., An Unusual Natural Phenomenon—Reverse Estuary, Vestn. Mosk. Univ., Ser. 5, Geography, 1992, no. 1, pp. 36–44.
Saf’yanov, G.A., Estuarii (Estuaries), Moscow: Mysl’, 1987.
Skriptunov, N.A. and Lupachev, Yu.V., Kaidak Bay as a Disappearing and Recovering Reverse Estuary of the Caspian Sea, Tr. Gos. Okeanogr. Inst., 2000, no. 207, pp. 235–244.
Albaret, J.-J., Les peuplements de poissons de la Casamance (Sénégal) en période de sécheresse, Rev. Hydrobiol. Trop., 1987, vol. 20, nos. 3–4, pp. 291–310.
Barusseau, J.-P., Diop, E.H.S., and Saos, J.-L., Evidence of Dynamics Reversal in Tropical Estuaries, Geomorphological and Sedimentological Consequences (Salum and Casamance Rivers, Senegal), Sedimentology, 1985, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 543–552.
Cameron, W.M. and Pritchard, D.W., Estuaries, The Sea, New York: Wiley-Intersience Publ., 1965.
Climate Change 2007. The physical science basis. Summary for policymakers, http://www.ipcc.ch
Dyer, K.R., Estuaries: A Physical Introduction, London; N.Y:; Sydney; Toronto: Wiley-Interscience Publ, 1973.
Gac, J.-I., Carn, M., and Saos, J.-L., L’invasion marine dans la basse valleé du fleuve Sénégal, Rev. Hydrobiol. Trop., 1986, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 3–17.
Gac, J.-Y., Carn, M., and Saos, J.-L., L’invasion marine dans la basse valleé du fleuve Sénégal. II-Periode 1980–1983, Rev. Hydrobiol. Trop., 1986, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 93–108.
Gac, J.-I. and Kane, A., Le Fleuve Sénégal: I. bilan hydrologique et flux continentaux de matières particulaires à l’embouchure, Sci. Géol. Bull. 39, Strasbourg, 1986, pp. 99–130.
Guidelines on the Study of Seawater Intrusion into Rivers, Studies and Reports in Hydrology, Paris: UNESCO, 1991.
Kane, A., Regulation du Fleuve Sénégal et flux de matières particulaire vers l’estuaire depuis la construction du Barrage de Diama, IAHS-AISH Publ., 2005, vol. 292, pp. 279–290.
Ketchum, B.H., Estuarine Characteristics, Estuaries and Enclosed Seas, Amsterdam, 1983, pp. 1–14.
Le Reste, L., Influence de la salinité et du courant sur la taille de migration des crevettes penaeus notialis dans l’estuaire de la Casamance (Sénégal), Rev. Hydrobiol. Trop., 1987, vol. 20, nos. 3–4, pp. 279–289.
Milliman, J.D., Rutkowski, Ch., and Meybeck, M., River Discharge to the Sea. A Global River Index (GLORT). LOICZ Reports and Studies, 1995.
Officer, Ch.B., Physical Oceanography of Estuaries (and Associated Coastal Waters), New York: A Wiley-Interscience Publ., 1976.
Pagès, J. and Citeau, J., Rainfall and Salinity of a Sahelian Estuary between 1927 and 1987, J. Hydrol., 1990, vol. 113, nos. 1–4, pp. 325–341.
Pagès, J. and Debenay, J.-P., Évolution saisonnière de la salinité de la Casamance, Rev. Hydrobiol. Trop., 1987, vol. 20, nos. 3–4, pp. 203–217.
Pagès, J., Debenay, J.-P., and Lebrusq, J.-I., L’environnement estuarien de la Casamance, Rev. Hydrobiol. Trop., 1987, vol. 20, nos. 3–4, pp. 191–202.
Pagès, J., Lemoalle, J., and Fritz, B., Distribution of Carbon in a Tropical Hypersaline Estuary, the Casamance (Senegal, West Africa), Estuaries, 1995, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 456–468.
Pritchard, D.W., What Is An Estuary: Physical Viewpoint, Estuaries, Washington, DC: Amer. Ass. Advanc. Scien. Publ., 1967.
Saos, J.-L., Le Bouteiller C., Salif Diop E. Aspects géologique et géomorphologique de la Casamance, Rev. Hydrobiol. Trop., 1987, vol. 20, nos. 3–4, pp. 219–232.
Savenije, H.H.G., A One-Dimensional Model for Salinity Intrusion in Alluvial Estuaries, J. Hydrol., 1986, vol. 85, nos. 1–2, pp. 87–109.
Wolanski, E., An Evaporation-Driven Salinity Maximum Zone in Australian Tropical Estuaries, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 1986, vol. 22, pp. 415–424.
www.senegalaisement.com
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Original Russian Text © V.N. Mikhailov, M.V. Isupova, 2008, published in Vodnye Resursy, 2008, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 387–405.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mikhailov, V.N., Isupova, M.V. Hypersalinization of river estuaries in West Africa. Water Resour 35, 367–385 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0097807808040015
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0097807808040015