To assess the quality of the Egyptian Red Sea coastal waters for the sustainable use and development, due to its importance for the national income, four field campaigns were annually carried out during the period from 2011-2013 to investigate the hydrography, nutrient salts, heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons. Except for the area of Bir Shalatein, the results of beach litter cleared out that the shoreline of the studied area is not affected by man-made litter. No sewage could be observed. The results of the present study showed that water temperature followed seasonal changes in air temperature. Red Sea water is more saline than adjacent Arabian Sea. DO revealed high values and presence of well oxygenated waters. Minor changes in the distribution of pH, BOD, DOM and COD, revealed that limited effects of human impacts and depend mainly on the dynamics of its water as well as on the geographical location. Low Chl- a and TSM concentrations and high transparency revealed that also the effect of human impacts is almost negligible. Significantly higher sea water temperatures, TSM, pH, DO, BOD, DOM, and COD were observed in summer season compared to their corresponding values in winter season. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations were quite low because there is little nutrient input from soil, agriculture and pollution on land. Based on the annual mean values, the pattern concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen forms followed the order: NO 3 > NH 4 > NO 2. The Red Sea coastal waters are classified as oligotrophic to mesotrophic state. A remarkable increase of PO 4 concentration was observed in the middle Red Sea stations due to huge amounts of effluents enriched with phosphate from the main shipping and industry of Phosphate Companies. SiO 4 displayed a large variability due to the supply of SiO 4, which flows in the Red Sea through the strait of Bab El-Mandab, biological consumption, organic matter decomposition and the partial dissolution of quartz particle transported to the sea from the surrounding desert during sand storms. Concentrations of ammonia, phosphorus, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus were significantly higher in summer compared to their corresponding values in winter. In general, the majority of TN and TP in winter were in the form of organic-N (91.3%) and organic P (96.8%). The mean DIN/DIP ratio revealed high nitrogen concentrations in comparison with that of phosphorous and the surface coastal waters of the Red Sea are principally, P-limited for phytoplankton growth with higher values in winter season compared to summer season. Concentrations of heavy metals were quite low most probably due the absence of major local impacts of any land-based sources and/or any major negative impacts of coastal tourism. Regional variations were almost negligible and except for Mn, Cd, and Hg insignificant seasonal variations were observed. The present study revealed concentrations for metals in the acceptable levels. Furthermore, concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons were significantly higher in winter than in summer which is mainly attributed to the increase in the rate of evaporation for petroleum hydrocarbons in summer. In general, the maximum concentration was much lower than the harmful concentrations reported for seawater. Correlation coefficients as well as principle component analysis (PCA) were applied.
The Northern Red Sea is an important sea area, not just as a unique environment, but as one of the most diverse marine ecosystems, great scientific and ecological sensitivity, and of great beauty and tourist-value. Hence, their natural resources provide a substantial economic support for the region. Furthermore, the regional resources contribute substantially to Egypt’s economy, particularly in the areas of oil production, navigation, tourism and fisheries [
The Red Sea is 1930 km length and average 280 km in width. It is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. It is a semi-enclosed, narrow water body with no river inputs. The surface area of the Red Sea is about 437,970 km2 and its mean depth is 491 m, but it also has extensive shallow shelves, noted for their marine life and corals. The sea is the habitat of over 1000 invertebrate species, and 200 soft and hard corals [
The Red Sea, due to the low population density along the coast, is a considered relatively pristine area. Contamination of the Red Sea is one of the environmental crises that accompany with the rapid economic development and has become a subject of great deal of research in recent years [
The economic repercussions on the fishing and tourist trades depend, mainly on the degree of deterioration of environmental conditions. On the other hand, the rapid tourism development may lead to a serious threat to both the marine environment and the tourism industry itself, if not planned and developed on a sound environmental basis with the effective enforcement of environmental regulations combined with strong backing by scientific research and monitoring programs to control and follow up changes in the different habitats. It has been reported that areas such as Hurghada has been developed and exploited beyond their ecological and social carrying capacities and are already showing signs of environmental degradation [
The main objective of the present paper is to assess the environmental conditions including the hydrography, nutrient salts, heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons of the coastal waters along the Egyptian coast of the Red Sea for the management and sustainable development of the Red Sea environments.
The coastal zone in the Egyptian Red Sea Side, particularly in the distance between Hurghada and Bir Salatein, along a distance of 600 km is interesting from several points of view. In addition to the development of urban areas, ports, oil industry and may be other installations, the major asset of coastal zone is potential for development of tourism. The development of the coastal area with hotels, resorts, villages’ beaches, pools, diving centers and other tourist facilities has taken place within the coastline, but in many sites as Hurghada the development has included the littoral zone and even part of the reef flat, which has been land filled. The coastal zone in between Abu Shar (El-Guona) and Bir Shalatein has attracted many investors for establishing their touristic projects along its coast. Some of these plants have been built on the course of wadies, on areas of loose sediments drifted to the wadi mouths by flash floods and torrents from the Red Sea Mountains. The Red Sea is a natural laboratory for investigating relatively rapid changes of short duration in a restricted marine environment. It covers a wide range of conditions, from normal marine, highly productive to external hypersaline and oligotrophic [
Recently, an Environmental Information and Monitoring Program (EIMP) is initiated to assess the degree of deterioration of environmental conditions for a proper environmental management. Within the framework of this programm, 12 field campaigns were carried out in 3 years (2011-2013). A total of 108 coastal water samples were seasonally collected, in duplicate, during March, May, August and October of 2011-2013. Eight coastal sampling stations were selected to represent the different locations situated under the direct effect of human activities, public resort beaches, some protected and reference sites (
The hydrographic parameters (water temperature, salinity, pH, Transparency, dissolved oxygen (DO) were measured in situ at each station using CTD (YSI-6000) Transparency was measured by Secchi Disk. Dissolved oxygen was also measured using modified
St.No | Area | Latitude | Longitude | Distance from (Km) Hurghada (km) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Re 01 | Hurghada-Hotel Sheraton | 27˚11'37.5'' | 33˚56'12.6'' | 10 |
Re 02 | Safaga north | 26˚47'34.9'' | 34˚00'20.0'' | 65 |
Re 03 | Safaga middle | 26˚30'20.0'' | 34˚04'15.0'' | 70 |
Re 04 | El Hamarawein | 26˚15'09.0'' | 34˚12'05.0'' | 120 |
Re 05 | Quseir north | 26˚12'15.0'' | 34˚13'15.0'' | 140 |
Re 06 | Quseir middle | 26˚08'30.0'' | 34˚14'30.0'' | 150 |
Re 07 | Marsa Alam | 25˚04'0 6.1'' | 34˚45'0 0.4'' | 275 |
Re 08 | Bir Shalatein | 23˚09'0 9.9'' | 35˚36'48.3'' | 550 |
Winkler method [
Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) was measured in 3 L water samples after collection and filtration by using 0.45 µm filters. Chl-a was extracted using 90% acetone and measured spectrophotometerically according to [
Dissolved heavy metals, i.e. Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cd, … etc. were determined after pre-concentration from seawater by using chelex-100 cation-exchange resins according to [
Petroleum hydrocarbons were extracted from seawater samples by using dichloromethane. Sample extracts were concentrated by rotary evaporation to 5 ml. Finally, samples were concentrated under a gentle stream of pure nitrogen to a final volume of 1 ml, then measured using UV-spectrophotometer at 410 nm emission after excitation at 360 nm and chrysene as standard [
Calibration curves for each variable of nutrient salts and heavy metals were constructed of a blank and four or more standards (Merck Germany). Accuracy and precision were confirmed using synthetic samples and/or reference materials of different nutrient salts and metals and measured every five samples as quality control tools.
A stepwise multiple linear regression to give insight about the relationships between the independent variables and the dependent variables were calculated (n = 106 p ≤ 0.05) to test the relationship between variables. The correlation coefficient is significant at r ≥ 0.195. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to test significant differences in the measured variables and correlation matrices were constructed from the resulting coefficients with the aid of STATISTICA 10 program. Principle component analysis (PCA) and factor analysis as Varimax normalization rotated were applied with SPSS program version 15.0 for Windows. The number of factors was determined by the total variance explained, i.e. communality, usually more than 85% was necessary.
Beach litter of lumps of new and old tar, oil, feces, sewage disposal, general and harmful liters as well as seaweeds of coastal beach zones especially those used for recreational purposes including pollution index and the magnitudes of pollution for respective items are assessed by eyes according to: none, light, moderate and heavy, allocating respective scores ranging from “0” to “3” (
Except for the area of Bir Shalatein, the results of
Item | None | Light | Moderate | Heavy |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lumps of new and old tar | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Oil | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Faces | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Seaweeds | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
General Litter | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Harmful Litter | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Sewage | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Stations | Respective years | Av. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Area | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
Re 01 | Hurghada-Hotel | 0.18 | 0.18 | 0.07 | 0.14 |
Re 02 | Safaga north | 0.00 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 0.04 |
Re 03 | Safaga middle El | 0.93 | 0.54 | 0.28 | 0.58 |
Re 04 | Hamarawein | 0.25 | 0.46 | 0.36 | 0.36 |
Re 05 | Quseir north | 0.32 | 0.46 | 0.36 | 0.38 |
Re 06 | Quseir middle | 0.43 | 0.46 | 0.21 | 0.37 |
Re 07 | Marsa Alam | 0.39 | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.27 |
Re 08 | Bir Shalatein | 0.96. | 0.89 | 0.89 | 0.91 |
annual average monitoring for the density, composition, and distributions at different stations cleared out that the shoreline of the Egyptian Red Sea can be considered relatively not affected by man-made litter. The area of Bir Shalatein (Re 08) was subjected to many factors which undoubtedly affected the rate of man-made litter accumulation including general litter, harmful litter, seaweeds, sewage, faces, … etc. [
In general, the most abundant visible items were general litter as they represented 42.5% of the total items encountered. Seaweeds, on the other hand, represented 24.6% followed by faces and Oil which constituted 11.5% and 10.7%; respectively. On contrast, harmful litter and tar balls represented 8.3%, 2.4%, respectively. No sewage could be observed during the three respective years (2011-2013).
The ranges as well as average values of temperature, salinity pH, DO, BOD, DOM, COD of the Red Sea surface coastal waters are listed in
Stations | Code | Temp. (˚C) | Salinity (S‰) | pH | Do (mg/l) | Do % | BOD (mg/l) | DOM (mg/l) | COD (mg/l) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hurghada-Hotel Sheraton | Re1 | 23.01 | 28.98 | 39.35 | 40.21 | 8.14 | 8.29 | 5.84 | 9.24 | 95.61 | 151.39 | 0.28 | 5.42 | 0.08 | 0.88 | 2.51 | 9.40 |
25.99 | 39.79 | 8.22 | 7.34 | 114.11 | 1.85 | 0.48 | 7.59 | ||||||||||
Safaga North | Re2 | 22.93 | 29.51 | 39.34 | 40.12 | 8.14 | 8.29 | 5.35 | 8.41 | 87.65 | 137.73 | 0.28 | 4.36 | 0.16 | 0.88 | 2.51 | 9.64 |
26.26 | 39.78 | 8.23 | 6.49 | 101.07 | 1.43 | 0.46 | 7.54 | ||||||||||
Safaga Middle | Re3 | 22.33 | 29.32 | 39.46 | 40.36 | 8.10 | 8.21 | 4.80 | 8.13 | 78.54 | 133.18 | 0.42 | 3.06 | 0.08 | 1.32 | 2.51 | 11.20 |
25.91 | 39.95 | 8.17 | 6.40 | 99.22 | 1.23 | 0.70 | 8.32 | ||||||||||
El Hamarawein | Re4 | 19.41 | 28.74 | 38.40 | 40.10 | 8.13 | 8.22 | 5.00 | 8.69 | 81.95 | 142.28 | 0.56 | 1.53 | 0.16 | 1.04 | 2.97 | 10.00 |
25.08 | 39.40 | 8.19 | 6.55 | 100.82 | 1.06 | 0.59 | 7.86 | ||||||||||
Quseir North | Re5 | 22.98 | 29.46 | 38.95 | 41.03 | 8.10 | 8.22 | 4.87 | 9.38 | 79.68 | 153.66 | 0.28 | 1.76 | 0.08 | 2.16 | 6.17 | 11.08 |
25.87 | 39.72 | 8.18 | 6.45 | 100.19 | 1.09 | 0.82 | 8.75 | ||||||||||
Quseir Middle | Re6 | 22.78 | 29.60 | 38.20 | 40.18 | 8.12 | 8.23 | 5.00 | 8.13 | 81.95 | 133.18 | 0.28 | 1.74 | 0.08 | 3.12 | 7.49 | 12.03 |
26.44 | 39.45 | 8.19 | 6.36 | 99.32 | 1.09 | 1.02 | 9.28 | ||||||||||
Marsa Alam | Re7 | 23.72 | 30.65 | 39.06 | 40.19 | 8.13 | 8.25 | 5.07 | 11.75 | 83.09 | 192.36 | 0.70 | 4.45 | 0.08 | 2.16 | 6.17 | 10.12 |
26.79 | 39.65 | 8.21 | 6.69 | 104.89 | 1.65 | 0.75 | 8.47 | ||||||||||
Bir Shalatin | Re8 | 24.44 | 38.05 | 40.59 | 44.36 | 8.03 | 8.26 | 4.87 | 7.09 | 79.68 | 123.70 | 0.76 | 1.60 | 0.32 | 3.12 | 8.21 | 12.51 |
30.31 | 42.62 | 8.17 | 5.86 | 95.31 | 1.15 | 1.39 | 10.44 | ||||||||||
Min | 19.41 | 38.20 | 8.03 | 4.80 | 78.54 | 0.28 | 0.08 | 2.51 | |||||||||
Max | 38.05 | 44.36 | 8.29 | 11.75 | 192.36 | 5.42 | 3.12 | 12.51 | |||||||||
Average | 26.61 | 40.01 | 8.18 | 6.82 | 110.44 | 1.58 | 0.91 | 8.03 |
winter and 21˚C - 26˚C in summer. Surface water temperatures remain relatively constant at 21˚C - 25˚C [
It is well known that the Red Sea is a concentration basin where extensive evaporation and winter cooling transform the surface waters to form one of the most saline water masses of the world Ocean [
Ranges and regional average values of Chl-a, TSM and Secchi Disk depth are reported in
Station Name | Code | chll-a | TSM | NH4 | NO2 | NO3 | TN | PO4 | TP | SiO4 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Min | Max | ||||||||||||||||||
Hurghada-Hotel Sheraton | Re1 | 0.02 | 1.46 | 1.50 | 27.40 | 4.12 | 25.70 | 0.78 | 8.50 | 4.12 | 38.31 | 20.16 | 2244.48 | 0.46 | 15.07 | 5.41 | 67.92 | 31.23 | 81.47 |
0.50 | 16.64 | 9.70 | 4.28 | 14.08 | 880.36 | 2.91 | 26.44 | 54.08 | |||||||||||
Safaga North | Re 2 | 0.02 | 0.98 | 1.08 | 32.09 | 3.86 | 30.16 | 0.36 | 6.00 | 3.73 | 31.06 | 114.24 | 2878.40 | 0.00 | 6.03 | 5.26 | 1748.95 | 27.26 | 67.24 |
0.45 | 18.65 | 10.86 | 3.91 | 12.65 | 952.63 | 1.92 | 213.49 | 48.22 | |||||||||||
Safaga Middle | Re 3 | 0.01 | 1.02 | 1.18 | 32.22 | 4.52 | 36.71 | 0.36 | 7.00 | 4.52 | 93.44 | 80.64 | 2443.84 | 0.60 | 11.30 | 5.18 | 114.59 | 37.14 | 284.21 |
0.37 | 16.73 | 12.27 | 4.05 | 28.04 | 1006.56 | 3.09 | 39.33 | 106.34 | |||||||||||
El Hamarawein | Re 4 | 0.10 | 3.72 | 12.29 | 31.10 | 3.46 | 27.62 | 1.42 | 8.00 | 2.49 | 23.96 | 87.36 | 2495.36 | 0.60 | 13.56 | 3.53 | 197.90 | 18.01 | 161.36 |
0.66 | 20.92 | 10.41 | 4.47 | 11.95 | 934.77 | 3.65 | 59.63 | 68.76 | |||||||||||
Quseir North | Re 5 | 0.02 | 1.72 | 9.68 | 33.14 | 3.24 | 34.96 | 1.05 | 10.00 | 7.05 | 87.92 | 87.36 | 1922.13 | 0.60 | 11.30 | 5.37 | 102.83 | 27.01 | 112.32 |
0.62 | 20.80 | 13.68 | 5.35 | 21.85 | 876.56 | 3.13 | 45.41 | 60.17 | |||||||||||
Quseir Middle | Re 6 | 0.02 | 2.12 | 11.13 | 38.11 | 3.78 | 30.55 | 0.78 | 6.80 | 3.80 | 97.67 | 123.20 | 2598.40 | 0.46 | 18.83 | 3.88 | 69.09 | 18.01 | 112.32 |
0.55 | 23.90 | 13.08 | 4.50 | 22.82 | 960.40 | 4.21 | 33.04 | 57.62 | |||||||||||
Marsa Alam | Re 7 | 0.05 | 2.32 | 10.96 | 31.42 | 5.67 | 56.47 | 1.35 | 8.50 | 6.79 | 24.52 | 105.28 | 2013.76 | 0.00 | 19.59 | 5.54 | 1782.55 | 28.14 | 128.93 |
0.80 | 21.35 | 14.87 | 4.77 | 13.13 | 843.48 | 4.42 | 224.62 | 66.79 | |||||||||||
Bir Shalatin | Re 8 | 0.01 | 2.70 | 9.82 | 30.23 | 9.04 | 46.47 | 1.58 | 8.01 | 5.34 | 28.07 | 201.60 | 2197.44 | 0.46 | 22.60 | 6.10 | 44.40 | 25.89 | 105.20 |
0.58 | 21.84 | 19.20 | 4.39 | 14.72 | 971.54 | 4.22 | 25.74 | 58.61 | |||||||||||
Min | 0.01 | 1.08 | 3.24 | 0.36 | 2.49 | 20.16 | 0.00 | 3.53 | 18.01 | ||||||||||
Max | 3.72 | 38.11 | 56.47 | 10.00 | 97.67 | 2878.40 | 22.60 | 1782.55 | 284.21 | ||||||||||
Average | 0.94 | 19.74 | 18.85 | 4.48 | 27.01 | 1151.48 | 6.60 | 254.70 | 80.33 |
matter (24.80 mg/l) in summer than in winter (15.71 mg/l). On contrast, higher values of chlorophyll-a (0.51 μg∙g/l) were observed in winter season compared to their corresponding values (0.39 μg∙g/l) in winter season showing a different seasonal pattern compared to dissolved oxygen (
Lack of riverine input and negligible precipitation mean that the nutrient-depleted ecosystem of the Red Sea relies principally on the horizontal intrusion of nutrient-rich waters from the Indian Ocean through Bab El Mandab, (12.5 × 103 K3∙Y−1), whereas in the northern end of the basin, nutrient enrichment is related to deep vertical mixing, i.e. winter convection and presence of a permanent cyclonic feature [
productive zone. On this basis, productivity can be expected to be low over most of the central Red Sea. Production increases somewhat to the north and south where mixing processes are known to occur [
Station | code | NH4 % | NO2 % | NO3 % |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hurghada-Hotel Sheraton | Re 01 | 34.57 | 15.25 | 50.18 |
Safaga North | Re 02 | 39.61 | 14.26 | 46.13 |
Safaga Middle | Re 03 | 27.66 | 9.13 | 63.21 |
El Hamarawein | Re 04 | 38.80 | 16.66 | 44.54 |
Quseir North | Re 05 | 33.46 | 13.09 | 53.45 |
Quseir Middle | Re 06 | 32.38 | 11.14 | 56.48 |
Marsa Alam | Re 07 | 45.38 | 14.56 | 40.06 |
Bir Shalatin | Re 08 | 50.12 | 11.46 | 38.42 |
Annual mean | 37.75 | 13.19 | 49.06 |
mostly related to their short life cycle, sorption and deposition on iron born dust conveyed to the basin from the surrounding deserts. [
With the growth of industry, there has been a considerable increase in the discharge of industrial waste to the aquatic systems, which has led to the accumulation of heavy metals resulting in a major health concern worldwide, as they cannot be broken down to non-toxic forms and therefore have long-lasting effects on the ecosystem [
Station Name | Code | Fe | Mn | Cu | Zn | Cr | Ni | Cd | Pb | Hg | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hurghada-Hotel Sheraton | Re1 | 12.89 | 64.62 | 0.60 | 8.98 | 0.96 | 6.05 | 4.41 | 75.91 | 0.63 | 1.43 | 0.51 | 1.76 | 0.25 | 0.97 | 3.39 | 6.63 | 0.00 | 0.10 |
33.66 | 3.29 | 3.04 | 22.09 | 1.06 | 1.22 | 0.58 | 4.35 | 0.05 | |||||||||||
Safaga North | Re2 | 25.63 | 57.16 | 0.49 | 12.73 | 1.35 | 4.87 | 7.28 | 41.22 | 0.46 | 1.46 | 0.95 | 2.06 | 0.16 | 1.18 | 2.06 | 5.40 | 0.02 | 0.08 |
36.36 | 3.73 | 2.60 | 19.26 | 1.00 | 1.36 | 0.52 | 3.59 | 0.05 | |||||||||||
Safaga Middle | Re3 | 19.75 | 65.62 | 0.59 | 4.41 | 1.50 | 7.17 | 2.68 | 11.16 | 0.39 | 1.40 | 0.39 | 3.07 | 0.13 | 0.70 | 1.80 | 6.13 | 0.04 | 0.07 |
44.02 | 1.90 | 3.43 | 7.91 | 1.09 | 1.35 | 0.35 | 3.96 | 0.05 | |||||||||||
El Hamarawein | Re4 | 23.50 | 56.31 | 0.52 | 2.34 | 1.61 | 14.12 | 9.40 | 15.39 | 0.73 | 1.36 | 0.98 | 1.79 | 0.24 | 0.81 | 1.32 | 6.11 | 0.01 | 0.10 |
41.68 | 1.44 | 6.83 | 11.85 | 1.09 | 1.33 | 0.49 | 3.66 | 0.06 | |||||||||||
Quseir North | Re5 | 15.04 | 40.45 | 1.22 | 4.81 | 1.21 | 8.28 | 8.15 | 14.80 | 0.76 | 1.88 | 0.68 | 3.35 | 0.23 | 0.87 | 2.62 | 3.96 | 0.03 | 0.06 |
29.61 | 2.02 | 3.78 | 11.79 | 1.20 | 1.64 | 0.48 | 3.38 | 0.04 | |||||||||||
Quseir Middle | Re6 | 21.45 | 47.10 | 0.19 | 1.55 | 1.27 | 8.43 | 5.52 | 15.79 | 0.69 | 1.54 | 0.83 | 2.27 | 0.20 | 0.61 | 2.31 | 8.90 | 0.01 | 0.03 |
35.99 | 0.98 | 3.50 | 10.73 | 1.11 | 1.39 | 0.38 | 4.20 | 0.02 | |||||||||||
Marsa Alam | Re7 | 19.78 | 50.39 | 0.55 | 1.72 | 1.23 | 8.95 | 4.17 | 14.29 | 0.80 | 1.60 | 0.65 | 2.03 | 0.14 | 0.60 | 3.13 | 3.96 | 0.01 | 0.05 |
35.99 | 1.18 | 3.51 | 8.32 | 1.15 | 1.16 | 0.39 | 3.56 | 0.03 | |||||||||||
Bir Shalatin | Re8 | 27.62 | 40.82 | 0.26 | 2.92 | 0.64 | 6.72 | 5.94 | 24.01 | 0.72 | 1.47 | 0.56 | 1.69 | 0.15 | 0.63 | 2.44 | 4.24 | 0.01 | 0.06 |
32.66 | 1.30 | 3.09 | 11.34 | 0.91 | 1.19 | 0.37 | 3.28 | 0.02 | |||||||||||
Min | 12.89 | 0.19 | 0.64 | 2.68 | 0.39 | 0.39 | 0.13 | 1.32 | 0.00 | ||||||||||
Max | 65.62 | 12.73 | 14.12 | 75.91 | 1.88 | 3.35 | 1.18 | 8.90 | 0.10 | ||||||||||
Average | 36.59 | 2.49 | 4.34 | 15.14 | 1.08 | 1.42 | 0.48 | 3.93 | 0.04 |
riverine input, the absence of major local impacts of any land-based sources and/or any major negative impacts of coastal tourism in the investigated area [
Total petroleum hydrocarbons in the investigated area ranged from 0.20 µg/l at Re 07 in October, 2013 and 6.86 µg/l at Re 01 in May, 2012, with an average of 0.91 µg/l (
Statistically, correlation coefficient technique was applied between different measured variables to evaluate the relationships between them (
Temp | Sal | pH | DO | BOD | DOM | COD | chll-a | TSM | NH4 | NO2 | NO3 | TN | PO4 | TP | SiO4 | Fe | Mn | Cu | Zn | Cr | Ni | Cd | Pb | Hg | PHC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Temp | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sal | 0.49 | 1.00 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
pH | −0.03 | −0.26 | 1.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
DO | −0.51 | −0.15 | 0.12 | 1.00 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
BOD | −0.18 | 0.02 | 0.23 | 0.64 | 1.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||
DOM | −0.16 | 0.06 | −0.01 | 0.27 | −0.05 | 1.00 | ||||||||||||||||||||
COD | 0.33 | 0.26 | −0.02 | −0.01 | 0.19 | 0.24 | 1.00 | |||||||||||||||||||
chll-a | 0.09 | 0.00 | −0.16 | −0.14 | 0.12 | −0.23 | −0.01 | 1.00 | ||||||||||||||||||
TSM | 0.43 | −0.02 | 0.00 | −0.30 | −0.02 | −0.23 | 0.01 | 0.23 | 1.00 | |||||||||||||||||
NH4 | 0.49 | 0.30 | −0.15 | −0.34 | 0.03 | −0.32 | 0.17 | 0.27 | 0.32 | 1.00 | ||||||||||||||||
NO2 | 0.13 | 0.11 | 0.00 | 0.20 | 0.35 | 0.19 | 0.29 | 0.34 | 0.35 | 0.13 | 1.00 | |||||||||||||||
NO3 | −0.11 | −0.07 | −0.22 | 0.18 | 0.14 | 0.03 | 0.05 | 0.14 | 0.00 | 0.22 | 0.32 | 1.00 | ||||||||||||||
TN | 0.06 | −0.08 | 0.15 | −0.11 | −0.06 | 0.12 | 0.24 | 0.15 | 0.16 | 0.06 | 0.43 | 0.09 | 1.00 | |||||||||||||
PO4 | 0.22 | 0.03 | −0.08 | −0.39 | −0.15 | −0.31 | −0.10 | 0.58 | 0.28 | 0.36 | 0.22 | 0.02 | 0.17 | 1.00 | ||||||||||||
TP | 0.04 | −0.10 | −0.11 | −0.12 | −0.06 | −0.05 | 0.05 | 0.43 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.10 | 0.01 | −0.05 | 0.18 | 1.00 | |||||||||||
SiO4 | −0.05 | 0.04 | −0.25 | 0.10 | 0.22 | −0.03 | 0.19 | 0.28 | 0.15 | 0.13 | 0.41 | 0.54 | 0.10 | 0.20 | 0.19 | 1.00 | ||||||||||
Fe | −0.22 | −0.09 | 0.07 | 0.34 | 0.34 | 0.14 | −0.03 | −0.23 | 0.02 | −0.11 | 0.21 | 0.24 | 0.18 | −0.18 | −0.07 | 0.13 | 1.00 | |||||||||
Mn | −0.20 | −0.02 | 0.21 | 0.22 | −0.09 | −0.06 | −0.28 | −0.03 | −0.08 | −0.22 | 0.18 | 0.14 | 0.44 | −0.02 | −0.08 | −0.06 | 0.07 | 1.00 | ||||||||
Cu | −0.05 | −0.07 | −0.02 | −0.07 | −0.16 | 0.00 | 0.10 | 0.28 | 0.12 | −0.11 | 0.40 | −0.01 | 0.68 | 0.35 | 0.37 | 0.18 | 0.15 | 0.15 | 1.00 | |||||||
Zn | −0.11 | −0.04 | 0.18 | 0.03 | −0.06 | −0.03 | −0.12 | 0.03 | −0.30 | −0.19 | 0.09 | 0.10 | 0.32 | −0.06 | −0.04 | −0.08 | 0.01 | 0.36 | 0.14 | 1.00 | ||||||
Cr | −0.11 | −0.17 | 0.05 | 0.34 | 0.33 | 0.06 | 0.08 | −0.20 | 0.22 | 0.02 | 0.05 | 0.35 | −0.03 | −0.20 | −0.05 | 0.11 | 0.47 | 0.06 | −0.10 | −0.02 | 1.00 | |||||
Ni | 0.00 | 0.02 | −0.10 | 0.21 | 0.19 | −0.03 | 0.21 | 0.10 | −0.05 | 0.14 | 0.15 | 0.24 | 0.01 | 0.08 | 0.13 | 0.07 | 0.22 | 0.14 | 0.04 | 0.05 | 0.26 | 1.00 | ||||
Cd | −0.36 | −0.16 | 0.20 | 0.22 | 0.07 | 0.13 | −0.14 | 0.10 | −0.07 | −0.27 | 0.33 | 0.15 | 0.38 | 0.07 | −0.06 | 0.12 | 0.17 | 0.42 | 0.35 | 0.37 | 0.17 | 0.18 | 1.00 | |||
Pb | 0.07 | −0.03 | 0.13 | 0.09 | 0.14 | −0.15 | −0.17 | −0.13 | −0.04 | 0.21 | −0.16 | −0.02 | −0.03 | −0.04 | −0.08 | −0.12 | 0.34 | 0.09 | 0.07 | 0.02 | 0.10 | 0.33 | 0.08 | 1.00 | ||
Hg | −0.35 | −0.20 | −0.01 | 0.20 | −0.09 | −0.11 | −0.43 | −0.06 | −0.03 | −0.40 | −0.05 | 0.07 | 0.11 | −0.16 | −0.08 | 0.12 | 0.10 | 0.34 | 0.15 | 0.17 | 0.02 | −0.02 | 0.29 | 0.07 | 1.00 | |
PHC | 0.00 | 0.08 | −0.07 | 0.07 | 0.14 | 0.03 | 0.21 | 0.04 | 0.05 | 0.00 | 0.15 | 0.18 | 0.01 | −0.12 | 0.03 | 0.30 | 0.07 | −0.07 | −0.03 | −0.09 | 0.01 | 0.17 | −0.07 | −0.06 | 0.09 | 1.0 |
present study. There is a positive significant correlation between Cd and each of Mn (0.42) and Cu (0.35), Zn (0.37) and Hg (0.29). Also there are positive significant correlations between Ni and each of Fe (0.22), Cr (0.26) and Pb (0.33). It was found a strong positive significant correlation between Fe with each of Cr and Pb (0.47 and 0.34, respectively) and between Mn and each of Hg and Zn (0.34 and 0.36, respectively). PHC was showed a positive significant correlation with each of SiO4 (0.30) and COD (0.21). It was observed that, there are relationships between heavy metals and nutrient salts in the coastal water of the Red Sea. A negative significant correlation between NH4 and each of Mn (−0.22), Cd (−0.27) and Hg (−0.40), whereas positive significant correlations between NO2 with each of Cu and Cd (0.40 and 0.33, respectively), NO3 with each of Fe, Cr and Ni (0.24, 0.35 and 0.24, respectively), PO4 was positive correlated with Cu (0.35). A strong positive significant correlation between TN and each of Mn (0.44), Cu (0.68) and Zn (0.32) were computed. TP was positively correlated with Cu (0.37). DO showed a strong positive significant correlation with each of BOD (0.64), DOM (0.27), Fe (0.34), Mn (0.22) Cr (0.34) and Cd (0.22), whereas, It showed a strong negative significant correlation with each of TSM (−0.30), NH4 (−0.34) and PO4 (−0.39). The relations between PHC and metals were weak.
PCA is an application for assessment of water pollution. PCA is a multivariate statistical technique employed to reduce the dimensionality of dataset while attempting to preserve the relationships present in the original data. The Eigen values were computed for the standardized data using specialized statistical software package (SPSS version 16). PCA is an application for assessment of water pollution. PCA is a multivariate statistical technique employed to reduce the dimensionality of dataset while attempting to preserve the relationships present in the original data. The Eigen values were computed for the standardized data using specialized statistical software package (SPSS version 16). PCA is applied for multivariate data derived from the water analysis of 96 coastal water samples of Suez Gulf using 26 variables: water temperature, salinity, pH, DO, BOD, OM, COD, Chl-a, TSM,
PC1 | PC2 | PC3 | PC4 | PC5 | PC6 | PC7 | PC8 | PC9 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Temp. (˚C) | 0.80 | ||||||||
Salinity (S‰) | 0.78 | ||||||||
pH | −0.48 | 0.63 | |||||||
DO | −0.44 | 0.39 | −0.35 | 0.44 | |||||
BOD | 0.79 | ||||||||
DOM | −0.80 | ||||||||
COD | 0.47 | −0.41 | |||||||
Chll-a | 0.80 | ||||||||
TSM | 0.37 | −0.44 | 0.56 | ||||||
0.73 | |||||||||
NO2 | 0.64 | 0.45 | |||||||
NO3 | 0.80 | ||||||||
TN | 0.38 | 0.82 | |||||||
PO4 | 0.59 | 0.44 | |||||||
TP | 0.75 | ||||||||
SiO4 | 0.69 | ||||||||
Fe | 0.61 | ||||||||
Mn | 0.72 | ||||||||
Cu | 0.84 | 0.35 | |||||||
Zn | 0.72 | ||||||||
Cr | 0.37 | 0.46 | |||||||
Ni | 0.71 | ||||||||
Cd | 0.54 | 0.35 | |||||||
Pb | 0.77 | ||||||||
Hg | −0.53 | −0.37 | |||||||
THC | 0.87 | ||||||||
Variance % | 11.12 | 10.50 | 8.89 | 8.44 | 8.41 | 7.55 | 7.25 | 6.66 | 4.76 |
Cumulative % | 11.12 | 21.62 | 30.51 | 38.95 | 47.36 | 54.91 | 62.16 | 68.82 | 73.58 |
total variance and represented high positive loading for PHC 0.87.
Statistical analysis of the results for different investigated parameters revealed that there are several commutative and correlative relations between several physicochemical parameters, nutrient salts, heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons.
It is reasonable to conclude that, the impact of the human coastal zone uses of the investigated locations of the Egyptian Red Sea coastal water is still limited and not noticeable on the basis of the studied parameters as well as heavy metals and total petroleum hydrocarbons, except for Bir Shalatein (station 8) in the south, which is subjected to the most intense shipping activity beside the middle region, which is located between Safaga and Quseir. This area is subjected to the most intense shipping activity and industrial discharge of phosphate in Egypt. Finally, it is safe to conclude that, the marine body of the Egyptian Red Sea coastal region is not seriously threatened in spite of recently rapid recreational human development taken place on its coast.
Fahmy, M.A., Fattah, L.M.A., Abdel-Halim, A.M., Aly-Eldeen, M.A., Abo-El-Khair, E.M., Ahdy, H.H., Hemeilly, A., El-Soud, A.A. and Shreadah, M.A. (2016) Evaluation of the Quality for the Egyptian Red Sea Coastal Waters during 2011-2013. Journal of Environmental Protection, 7, 1810-1834. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jep.2016.712145