Frédéric K. Bonou is a researcher at the IRHOB, and a lecturer at the Benin National University of Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics of Abomey (UNSTIM). He was involved in an earlier Degrees Modelling Fund project in Benin, where he analysed the impacts of SRM on the West African monsoon, and ocean circulation. Frédéric has a PhD in Physical Oceanography from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFP) in Brazil, and has research interests in marine biogeochemistry, coastal erosion, sea level rise, and ocean and atmosphere interactions. He teaches a Masters course on “Climatological Data Analysis: Statistical Tools”, and co-supervises students’ internships.

Ahouefa Gerarda Maiella Toupe is currently studying physical oceanography and its applications at the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) and the University Paul Sabatier of Toulouse III (France). She has a background in environmental sciences, and is particularly interested in the management of coastal environments.

Arnaud Kouekam Kengap is a research officer in oceanography at the Specialized Research Station for Fisheries and Oceanography, in Limbe, Cameroon. He has an MSc in physical oceanography and applications from the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) and University of Toulouse Paul Sabatier (France). His research evaluated the hydro-morphological conditions of Grand Popo Beach, and his current interests focus on coastal processes and on coastal dynamic modelling, shorelines analysis, hydro-morphodynamics, satellite data extraction, and waves data acquisition.

Mr Kouakou is a junior researcher, currently in his final year as a PhD candidate at the WASCAL Doctoral Research Programme of the University of Lomé, Togo. His area of research centres on climate change and disaster risk management, and his thesis is based on the evolving coastal flood risk along the West African coast. Mr Kouakou previously studied in Delft (The Netherlands) and Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), where he obtained qualifications in coastal engineering and port development, and in geology. As part of this project, he will work on the impacts of SRM on sea levels.

Odilon Joël Houndegnonto is a post-doctoral fellow at LOPS, with a PhD in physical oceanography from the Université de Brestagne Occidentale (France). His research focuses on ocean physics with links to societal needs, including the response of the ocean to climate change through air-sea interactions at regional to global scales, and freshwater plume dynamics (rivers, sea-ice melting and precipitation). He has used in situ and remote sensing observations, combined with numerical model simulation outputs.

Aubains Hounsou Gbo is a post-doctoral researcher at the Marine Science Institute at the UFC in Brazil. He has a PhD in physical oceanography from Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, also in Brazil. His research interests lie in ocean dynamics, ocean-atmosphere interactions, tropical climate predictability, and climate change.

Alina Nathanaël Dossa is an associate researcher at the IRHOB. He holds a PhD in the physical oceanography of near-surface ocean dynamics off Northeast Brazil, and coastal sea surface salinity gradients in the world’s oceans, from the Federal University of Pernambuco in Brazil. He is also an associated researcher at the International Chair in Mathematical Physics and Applications (ICMPA-UNESCO Chair) of the Abomey-Calavi University (Benin). Alina has carried out diverse research projects using observational, remote sensing, and modelling data looking at the barrier layer in the Gulf of Guinea, western boundary circulation, and coastal surface salinity gradients around the world.

Dr Donatus Bapentire Angnuureng obtained his Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Physics from the University of Cape Coast in 2009, an MSc degree from the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin, in 2011, and a PhD in Environmental Physics from the University of Bordeaux, France, 2016. He currently is a research fellow and the team lead for Coastal Geomorphology and Engineering under the newly established Africa Center of Excellence in Coastal Resilience at the Centre for Coastal Management, University of Cape Coast. He is a 2017 National Geographic Explorer. He is a Member of the Ghana Science Association, and Coastal Education and Research Foundation (CERF). He serves as a reviewer in a number of Journals including Coastal Research, Computers & Geosciences and Advances in Space Research. Dr Angnuureng’s research has contributed to our understanding of the impact of storms and beach recovery in a meso-macrotidal environments and the role of sea level anomalies in modulating wave conditions to cause beach erosion. His research involves the application Photogrammetry (video cameras and unmanned aircraft systems) and other remote sensing techniques to monitor beach changes and pollution from natural and human induced factors. His research has attracted sponsorship from National Geographic Society, TWAS, and the French Embassy-Ghana. Dr Angnuureng has published 10 papers (which comprise 7 peer-reviewed journal articles, 2 Conference papers and a book of abstracts). He has an H-index of 4, and his work has been cited 64 times by peers in the discipline. Dr Angnuureng is passionate about groundbreaking research, capacity building and is involved in the training of postgraduate students (masters) from 3 African countries.

I’m a junior researcher in Oceanography and Applications, currently holding a Master’s degree in Physical Oceanography and Applications at the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin), which is co-associated with the University of Toulouse Paul Sabatier (France). I did my internship in one of Europe’s leading oceanography laboratories (LEGOS /France), where I acquired a thorough knowledge of marine sciences, ocean models of coastal regions, ocean-atmosphere interactions and climate change. My research focuses on the modelling of physical and biogeochemical parameters in the context of climate change, and the impacts of climate change on ocean dynamics and the environment.