Evaluation of the environmental quality of Parangipettai, Southeast Coast of India, by using multivariate and geospatial tool. (June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yuvaraj, Purushothaman; Satheeswaran, Thangaraj; Damotharan, Palani; Karthikeyan, Velmurugan; Jha, Dilip Kumar; Dharani, Gopal; Balasubramanian, Thangavel; Kirubagaran, Ramalingam
• Is Part Of: Marine pollution bulletin. Volume 131(2018)Part A
• Page Start: 239
• Page End: 247
• Publication Date: 2018-06
• Subjects: Vellar -- Coleroon -- Nutrients -- Phytoplankton -- Multivariate analysis; Marine pollution -- Periodicals; Marine Biology -- Periodicals; Water Pollution -- Periodicals; Mer -- Pollution -- Périodiques; Publications périodiques; Pollution des mers; Lutte antipollution; Electronic journals; 363.7394
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.04.022
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-326X

Abstract

Abstract: The anthropogenic pressure in recent years has driven us to investigate the environmental quality at 22 stations in Parangipettai by collecting seawater samples monthly from 2014 to 2015. The sampling stations were grouped into three different environments, namely, Vellar Estuary (VE), Coleroon Estuary (CE), and Open Sea (OS). Factor analysis showed a total variance of 65.63% and exhibited a strong factor loading for atmospheric temperature (0.914), water temperature (0.917), ammonia (0.767), inorganic phosphate (0.897), total phosphorus (0.783), and phytoplankton (0.829). The index value showed water quality was good in OS (74.18), whereas it was moderate in VE (69.73) and CE (68.47). The visual model developed using Geographical Information System (GIS) displayed a spatial pattern of water temperature and phytoplankton dispersion in a distinct manner. The results obtained through multivariate analysis and GIS-based model are imperative to establish reference for a comparative study with other similar ecosystem for better planning and management of tropical seawaters. Highlights: Index value (74.18) showed water quality was good in OS. VE (69.73) and CE (68.47) indicated moderate water quality due to anthropogenic pollutants. Fifty-three species of phytoplankton belonging to 37 genera were recorded. Multivariate and visual models help in the easy interpretation of the results.