An Assessment on the Coastal Seawater Quality of the Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Abstract

The present study focused on water quality assessment of 14 hotspot locations in the Gulf of Suez by measuring the physicochemical parameters seasonally during 2016. The results of investigated area revealed that, the annual mean range of water was: temperature (21.91˚C - 29.22˚C), pH (7.64 - 7.78), salinity (38.71‰ - 42.74‰), dissolved oxygen (6.09 - 8.78 mgO2/l,) oxidizable organic matter (1.4 - 5.4 mg/l), biological oxygen demand (1.14 - 3.94 mgO2/l), total suspended solids (18.56 - 37.69 mg/l), ammonia (13.51 - 494.41 µg/l), nitrite (1.261 - 151.76 µg/l), nitrate (7.11 - 487.85), dissolved inorganic phosphate (2.22 - 53.26) and silicate (19.83 - 347.61 µg/l). The N:P ratio fluctuated between 4.21 and 1214.61 with the main value of 81.16 indicating that the different sites in the northern part of the Gulf of Suez are P-limited. Based on the Principal Component Analysis Data, the stations locating in the Northern and Southern side of the Gulf of Suez are relatively good water quality; meanwhile, water quality of the other stations locating in the northern side of the Gulf of Suez is found slightly polluted to a different degree coincided with an increase in the human activities in each of these locations.