Insights into increasing land subsidence along Nigeria’s Gulf coast | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Systematic Review Insights into increasing land subsidence along Nigeria’s Gulf coast Femi Emmanuel Ikuemonisan, Philip S.J. Minderhoud, Leon Hause, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8922509/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Land subsidence is a threat to environmental sustainability and can pose greater dangers with a proportionate rise in bordering sea levels. Nigerian low-lying coastal region and the various economic activities around the coast are vulnerable to rising sea level because of global warming. However, no existing study has examined sea-level rise combined with land subsidence. This study reviews available literature on land subsidence and consequential relative sea-level rise along Nigerian coastlines and identifies research gaps. Subsidence occurs, at least, in four Nigerian coastal cities – Lagos, Port Harcourt, Uyo, and Warri. The highest observed subsidence (up to 520 mm/year) is found in the Harcourt area, which is likely due to continued groundwater pumping and oil and gas extraction. Environmental Engineering Subsidence Relative sea-level rise InSAR Nigeria Gulf of Guinea Port Harcourt Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8922509","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":594241515,"identity":"e398798a-3b92-4a73-9b99-d94e3be896fd","order_by":0,"name":"Femi Emmanuel Ikuemonisan","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1671-8733","institution":"Department of Physics (Geophysics Research Group), University of Lagos, Nigeria","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Femi","middleName":"Emmanuel","lastName":"Ikuemonisan","suffix":""},{"id":594247220,"identity":"3185d1d0-2978-42f8-b7af-596c93bb7098","order_by":1,"name":"Philip S.J. Minderhoud","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Soil Geography and Landscape Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Philip","middleName":"S.J.","lastName":"Minderhoud","suffix":""},{"id":594247221,"identity":"1921df17-d8f1-4d46-a0b6-d44113fd9a6a","order_by":2,"name":"Leon Hause","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherland","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Leon","middleName":"","lastName":"Hause","suffix":""},{"id":594247222,"identity":"5b61a231-0ac2-48dd-8f36-72cceff95d0c","order_by":3,"name":"Vitalis Chidi Ozebo1","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Physics, University of Lagos, Nigeria","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vitalis","middleName":"Chidi","lastName":"Ozebo1","suffix":""},{"id":594247223,"identity":"82233384-9272-448b-a46a-4f4d6aafaaa5","order_by":4,"name":"Roberta Boni","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Urbino, Urbino, Italy,","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Roberta","middleName":"","lastName":"Boni","suffix":""},{"id":594247224,"identity":"5ebf5331-3c01-47d0-9623-6470576cb731","order_by":5,"name":"Claudia Zoccarato","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Claudia","middleName":"","lastName":"Zoccarato","suffix":""},{"id":594247225,"identity":"fea45adb-6fa6-4cde-9f2f-6d164794eb1b","order_by":6,"name":"Marie-Noëlle Woillez","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"French Development Agency (AFD), Paris, France","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marie-Noëlle","middleName":"","lastName":"Woillez","suffix":""},{"id":594247226,"identity":"8652d726-f70c-42da-976c-706cb887413b","order_by":7,"name":"Pietro Teatini","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pietro","middleName":"","lastName":"Teatini","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-20 05:19:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8922509/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8922509/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":103505602,"identity":"9bcd0f62-088a-4015-baf5-ffd87eca6310","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-26 13:32:09","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":760022,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TISOLSIkuemonisanAkkoord6.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8922509/v1_covered_b1f34574-e097-473e-b5dc-8bf2a5a91147.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eInsights into increasing land subsidence along Nigeria’s Gulf coast\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Lagos","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Subsidence, Relative sea-level rise, InSAR, Nigeria, Gulf of Guinea, Port Harcourt","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8922509/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8922509/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eLand subsidence is a threat to environmental sustainability and can pose greater dangers with a proportionate rise in bordering sea levels. Nigerian low-lying coastal region and the various economic activities around the coast are vulnerable to rising sea level because of global warming. However, no existing study has examined sea-level rise combined with land subsidence. This study reviews available literature on land subsidence and consequential relative sea-level rise along Nigerian coastlines and identifies research gaps. Subsidence occurs, at least, in four Nigerian coastal cities – Lagos, Port Harcourt, Uyo, and Warri. The highest observed subsidence (up to 520 mm/year) is found in the Harcourt area, which is likely due to continued groundwater pumping and oil and gas extraction.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Insights into increasing land subsidence along Nigeria’s Gulf coast","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-24 05:20:54","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8922509/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"aacbab4d-cf9e-4c37-84d7-f27d5c9dc926","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 24th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":63419904,"name":"Environmental Engineering"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-24T05:20:54+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-24 05:20:54","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8922509","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8922509","identity":"rs-8922509","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}
Text is read by the "Ask this paper" AI Q&A widget below.
Extraction quality varies by source — PMC NXML preserves structure
cleanly, OA-HTML may include some navigation residue, and OA-PDF can
have broken hyphenation. The publisher copy
(via DOI)
is the canonical version.