Abstract
The intention of this study was to appraise the spatial and temporal variations in the physico-chemical parameters of coastal waters of Rameswaram Island, Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve, south India, using multivariate statistical techniques, such as cluster analysis, factor analysis and principal component analysis. Spatio-temporal variations among the physico-chemical parameters are observed in the coastal waters of Gulf of Mannar, especially during northeast and post monsoon seasons. It is inferred that the high loadings of pH, temperature, suspended particulate matter, salinity, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chlorophyll a, nutrient species of nitrogen and phosphorus strongly determine the discrimination of coastal water quality. Results highlight the important role of monsoonal variations to determine the coastal water quality around Rameswaram Island.
Highlights
Coastal areas are the most productive as well as valuable habitats
Gulf of Mannar (GoM) is located between the northwestern Srilanka and Southeast coast of India and the boundary starts from the southern coast of Rameswaram Island on its north which opens in the south into the North Indian Ocean (NIO)
The descriptive statistics of the physico-chemical parameters of Rameswaram Island are shown in Table 2 and the seasonal fluctuation of mean values of water quality parameters are illustrated in box plot (Figs. 3, 4)
Summary
Coastal areas are the most productive as well as valuable habitats. It is subject to great environmental modification because of their dense population, and deterioration in the coastal land use patterns such as urbanization, development of industries and agricultural activities. Besides the role of land nutrient discharge, the nutrient concentration variations of coastal marine waters can be related to oceanic sources, as in the case of areas subject to coastal upwelling events (Matsuura 1986; Gonzalez-Rodriguez et al 1992; Valentin et al 1994; Simonassi et al 2010). During these events, the productivity increases and the temporal variation in the nutrient concentrations in waters can be high (Valentin et al 1994; Fock 2003; Brandini et al 2007). The physico-chemical characteristics of the GoM was observed and analyzed with strengthens tools about the seasonal variations
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