This research was carried out to delineate zones of high likelihood of landslide occurrence in view of the fatal incidence of September 2013 that buried a building and 9 occupants in the city area of Edim Otop. Method involved field geotechnical boring and laboratory analysis; remote sensing analysis of SRTM-(DEM) and Landsat ETM imageries to extract slope and aspect; land use land cover, drainage and normalized vegetation index. The zonation of landslide susceptible areas was implemented using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in a multi criteria decision analysis of factors important in landslide occurrence. Results of the AHP depicts that the ground slope contributes 32% to the likelihood of landslide occurrence, while the orientation of the slope (aspect), soil type, cohesion, friction angle, hydraulic conductivity, drainage, land use land cover and normalized vegetation index's causative abilities to slope instability, failure and landslide susceptibility were 22%, 16%, 9%, 7%, 6%, 3%, 3%, and 2% respectively. Three landslide susceptibility zones of low, high and very high landslide susceptibility have been delineated. The ten deep gully sites sampled during the field studies all fall under the zone of very high land slide susceptibility including Edim Otop, the site of the September 2013 fatal rainfall induced incidence. Recommendations for management include risk and hazard quantification considering human occupation on very high landslide susceptibility areas, slope protection methods including excavated sections, use of sites of previous landslide such as Edim Otop as pilot projects to characterize the mechanism of slope instability and back analysis of slope failure as reference.

In this paper tectonics induced syndepositional tensile fracturing, faulting and block kinematics during structural evolution of this tertiary field has been reconstructed and the orientations of present-day horizontal stresses determined. Balanced cross-section using well coordinates and wireline logs correlation to portray the present-day architecture of the deformed geometry and stratigraphy has indicated two flank faults. The stratigraphic section depicts offlapping cyclic sedimentation in the middle to outer neritic environment during the Oligocene-Miocene epoch. Syndeposional shear displacement of the interconnected fractures in NE-SW and NW-SE fault trends indicate the directions of the maximum horizontal stress and present day maximum horizontal stress orientations determined from compressional shear failures in vertical wellbores depict NE-SW, NW-SE and ENE-WSW dominant directions consistent with the major fracture zones in the Gulf of Guinea along which triple-junction rifting into Nigeria's Benue trough aulacogen had occurred. Recent increase of earth tremors in Nigeria occurring in the NE-SW, NW-SE and ENE-WSW directions when correlated with the two tectonic episodes, the Aptian/Albian epeirogenic tectonism and the late Miocene-Pliocene faulting together with the presentday stress orientations all align in the axes of the major fracture zones that separated South America from Africa indicates that intraplate tectonic reactivation due to migration of the African plate along the major fracture zones that cut into Nigeria is imminent.

Research aimed at evaluating coastal vulnerability to erosion and shoreline encroachment due to flooding-ebbing cycles of waves. Daily cross sectional topographic profiles were measured from the backshore to the lower foreshore in five study stations at 1km interval and surf zone hydrodynamic parameters were monitored. The beach a modern, high energy, mesotidal and dissipative environment with average slope of ≤2° and a width of 90-180 m and sediments were characteristically fine to very fine grained, poorly to very well sorted sands. Volumetric change depicts all the morphozones but the lower foreshore was dominated by net accretion, the upper foreshore recording the highest volume (+ 7.92 m 3 /m). The lower foreshore had a sediment volume of -15.0 m 3 /m. Time-averaged beach stability index varies from 140 -260, 40 -60, 15 -30, 10 -36, and 4 -120 in stations 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively and intensity of mobilization decreased with distance from the estuary. Accretion increased with infiltration during tidal flooding indexing a dry beach and low groundwater table. Oversaturation, high groundwater table and exfiltration accounted for erosion at the lower foreshore. Findings are useful for foreshore protection design and prediction of saltwater migration into groundwater aquifers. Beach development for tourism is recommended.

This study was carried out to map and characterize the water bearing formations (aquifers) in Abia State, southeastern Nigeria. Aquifer hydraulic properties were obtained from existing borehole logs and pumping tests data obtained from the field. More recent productive boreholes in the study area were accurately geo-referenced by taking GPS elevations and coordinates. A synergy of all data collected during field visits and those gleaned from the literature, and the geologic information available were analyzed and interpreted to meet the broad framework and specific objectives of this study. Vertical electrical resistivity depth sounding for inferring the resistivity and thicknesses of the vertical succession of different conducting zones in the subsurface was employed in characterization of the subsurface auriferous units. The depth of the boreholes drilled varies from 21.02m -250m, while the static water level (SWL) varies between 4.57m around Ukwa-West to about 35.97m around Aba South. The depth range of 9.15m to 53.05m to the auriferous zone for Umuahia Local Government Area is in agreement with the value of 35.0m. Very productive aquifers in Abia State are limited to the alluvial deposits and the Coastal Plain Sands lithologies comprising: fine, medium and coarse-grained and often pebbly sands with some intercalations of clays. The alluvium occurs mainly in Ukwa West and East Local Government Areas. Drilling depths in this aquifer range from 30 to 140m. Prolific production is expected from this alluvium which has an approximate permeability of 35m2/day. The High production rate (Permeability = 35m2/day) is expected in the Coastal Plain Sands sediments found in all Local Government Areas stretching south of Umuahia and Bende. Drilling depths ranging from 40 to 250 m are recommended for boreholes in these LGAs. However, more precise drilling depths must be confirmed by hydro-geophysical site survey, because the geology of Abia State becomes more complicated north of Umuahia and Bende LGAs. This complication in geology affects all other LGAs north of Umuahia.