The intensification of extreme events coming from the sea due to climate change contributes significantly of the degradation of the West African coastal zone through the phenomena of marine submersions and coastal erosion. The solutions proposed to increase the resilience of this zone are still inadequate. The sea surface density, the tidal prediction model Tide Model Driver and tidal gauge data were used to quantify and analyze the spatio-temporal evolution of ocean tidal potential energy along the coastline. The results showed that the temporal variability of sea surface density is characterized by a slight decrease of this density over the 2000 – 2023 period. An uni-modal structure characterizes the monthly seasonal cycle of density regime; while the monthly seasonal cycle of tidal potential energy has a bimodal structure. Two seasons characterized ocean tidal potential energy seasonal variability along the West African coastline. The minor season centered on March occurs between February to April, while the energetic season that extends from August to October is centered on September. A strong interannual seasonal variability was observed in each West African coastal sections. This potential energy of the tide decreases spatially eastward, suggesting that the stretch of coastline from the Cap of Palmas to Sassandra is the most suitable for the implementation of a device to convert this energy into electrical energy. This adaptation solution is highly beneficial because it reduces the risks of coastal erosion, marine submersions and minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
Tano et al. (2025) studied this question.