Assessing Sediment Pollution off Deltaic Region using Sediment Budget as a Tool - A simple geospatial approach using Satellite

Data
Pravin D. Kuntea,*, Kotha Mahenderb
a

National Institute of Oceanography, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India
b

Department of Earth Science, Goa University, Goa, 403004, India Abstract

There is increasing acceptance that suspended sediments represents an important diffuse source pollutant in coastal waters, due to their role in governing the transport and fate of many substances viz., nutrients, heavy metals, pesticides and other organic contaminants and because of their impacts on benthic plants and animals. Sediment pollution arresting strategies therefore frequently need to include provision for the control of mobilization and delivery of excess sediments. The sediment budget concept provides appropriate framework for managing and controlling of diffuse source sediment pollution by identifying the key sources, intermediate stores and the likely sinks and help to assess impact of upstream mitigation strategies on downstream suspended sediment and associated contaminant fluxes. Geospatial technologies and free availability of satellite data provide solutions with simple and better understanding of such issues with greater environmental and economic impacts. The understanding of the sedimentological functioning of these units as sinks and sources of terrestrial matter helped in understanding the propagation of pollutants in the marine system. The present paper discusses the utility of the sediment budget for assessing sediment pollution explaining methodology and results specific to the deltaic region from India. Finally, it suggests the concept the sediment budget as a practical framework to support the design and implementation of sediment control programmes aimed at reducing pollution by fine sediment for understanding the propagation and thereby arresting pollutants in the marine system.
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Key word: Sediment budget, East coast of India, Remote sensing, Sediment pollution, River delta
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Introduction Rivers are the major carriers of large amounts land-derived freshwater, sediment, and natural elements to the global ocean. Collectively, the world's rivers annually discharge about 35,000 km3 of freshwater and 20-22 x 109 tons of solid and dissolved sediment to the ocean (Milliman and Meade, 1983; Milliman and Syvitski, 1992). As a result the large rivers play an important role in controlling the physical and biogeochemical features of estuaries and ocean margins (McKee et al., 2004; Meybeck et al., 2006; Bianchi and Allison, 2009). New estimates based on historical gauging data from thousands of rivers (Milliman and Farnsworth, 2010) show that this number could be closer to 19 x 109 tons of suspended sediments per year. Of this total sediment flux, ~70% or ~13 x 109 tons is believed to discharge from the eastern and southern Asian Pacific and oceanic margins alone (Milliman and Meade, 1983; Milliman and Syvitski, 1992; Ludwig et al., 1996; Milliman, 1995). In eastern and southern Asia, about one-third to onehalf of river-derived sediments is trapped in the river's low reaches and contributes to extensive floodplain and delta plain development. Since the flux and fate of river-derived material to the oceans play a key role in global environmental change (Bianchi and Allison, 2009), with up to 80% of global organic carbon being preserved in such marine deltaic deposits (Berner, 1982). The Himalayas are among the youngest and most active mountain ranges on the surface of the Earth, with high relief, steep gradients, frequent tectonic activity, intensive Monsoon rainfall, and highly erodable rocks (Clift et al., 2008). Coupled with the seasonal melting of its ~15,000 glaciers and abundant monsoonal rainfall, the Himalaya and surrounding plateaus give rise to seven of the world's largest river systems and account for ~ 30% of the global fluvial sediment flux to the sea. The Ganges-Brahmaputra (G-B) river annually discharges ~1200 x 106 tons of fluvial sediments to its delta plain and the Bay of Bengal. Different from the South and Southeast Asian river systems, the Bengal shelf is incised by a major canyon, the Swatch of No Ground, which directly connects the Ganges- Brahmaputra Rivers to the Bengal Fan. It is believed that this canyon behaves like a conduit in transporting a large portion of the G-B sediment load to the deep ocean (Hubscher and Spiess, 2005; Kuehl et al., 1997; Kottke et al., 2003). The peninsular part of the Indian subcontinent is traversed by a number of rivers most of which flow from west to east and in the process build large deltas at their mouths along the east coast of India bordering the Bay of Bengal (Fig.1). These monsoon driven river systems with the

sediments embedded in their deltas are considered as excellent repositories of palaeo-monsoon records. Of the many deltas along the 2,300 km long east coast of India, the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery are the major ones. The Godavari and Krishna deltas, these twin deltas including the inter-delta plain cover about 12,000km2. The Mahanadi delta, the northernmost of the four major deltas is, in fact, a composite delta of the Mahanadi and two more small but independent rivers, namely Brahmani and Baitarani which interlace together in their lower reaches and build their delta at the northern end of the Mahanadi delta. The present Mahanadi delta with its apex at Cuttack has two major distributaries, namely Mahanadi and Devi apart from several other minor ones. Several abandoned distributary channels and beach ridges have been recognized from the Mahanadi delta plain which spreads over about 9,500 km2 area (Sambasiva Rao et al, 1978). Cauvery river delta situated in southernmost, is one of the four major deltas along east coast of India. With its apex at about 30 km inland west of Tanjavur, the Cauvery river flows eastward along its 5 distributaries. The present shorelines of the east coast deltas exhibit more or less similar landforms such as sand spits, barrier islands, lagoons, mangrove swamps and tidal mud/sand flats. Apparently, progradation of these deltas is mainly by the growth of elongated spits and barriers and infilling of the lagoons that are enclosed by these shore parallel linear sand bodies. Mangroves colonize the emerging lagoon floors and in turn promote further deposition. Sediment is a natural component of several aquatic systems derived from physical, chemical and biological components of watersheds. It is considered as a form of pollution and harmful when there is excess. Surplus sediment damages environments by smothering benthic (bottom-dwelling) plants and animals. Suspended sediment clouds the water, prevent the sunlight penetrating to reach the leaves and stems of underwater grasses, or submerged aquatic vegetation and also triggers the morphology changes of an area. Sediment carries excess nutrients, and accumulations of sediment can clog waterways and ports. The presence of high concentrations of toxic materials in sediment contaminates waterways. A pollutant may be defined as any substance that reduces the water quality and it may be dissolved in the water, be attached to particles, exist as particles, float, or be mainly in benthic sediments or mud (James, 2002). A significant but largely unknown portion of the total contaminant are eventually brought to the river surface waters and ground water, finally reach the estuarine region and affects the

coastal waters, often beyond the limits of territorial waters. On entering coastal waters, sediment flux (and associated contaminant) is governed by coastal processes like alongshore sediment transport, onshore-offshore transport etc. The physical conditions, which include currents, tides, waves, turbulence, light, temperature, salinity, bed materials and suspended particles, determine the transport and dispersion of all suspended and dissolved material in the sea, along with contaminants, nutrients, and pollutants (James, 2002). The pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and mercury readily attach to sediment particles in water. Pollutants may suspend in a body of water and eventually settle to the bottom with the particles or be taken up by marine organisms, which pass the contaminants into the marine food chain. Lead pollution is reported from the shelf and slope regions of the East China Sea (Huh and Chen, 1999), deep north-east Atlantic sediments (Veron et al., 1987), fossil carbon recovered in coastal sediments (Baxter, 1980); mercury concentrations observed in marine sediments collected off Southern California (Young et al., 1973), and Chernobyl nuclide is recorded from a North Sea sediment trap (Kempe and Nies, 1987). The enrichment of anthropogenic inputs of Pb, Zn, and Cu in the surface sediments of the Godavari estuary is observed especially in the western shallow region (Krupadam et al., 2003, 2007). On the basis of the chemometric approach for the water quality studies, it was found that some locations of Godavari R. at Rajahmundry were under high influence of municipal contamination and industrial effluents, whilst other areas are under the influence of agriculture (Krishna et al., 2009). Sediment and suspended particulate matter (SPM) transport study is important not just for its own sake but because of associated pollutants may exist in a particulate phase or adhere to or be adsorbed on to particles and as particulates are an important part of all ecological environments. For example, nutrients and detritus can exist as particles, and SPM in turbid waters reduces light levels (James, 2002). The important role of fine sediment in the transfer and fate of nutrients and contaminants through aquatic systems (e.g. Owens et al., 2005; Carter et al., 2006; Horowitz et al., 2007), and in the degradation of aquatic habitats, including fish spawning gravels (e.g. Newcombe and Jensen, 1996; Acornley and Sear, 1999; Suttle et al., 2004), is widely known and it has emphasized its wider environmental and ecological significance as a pollutant. In order to reduce the associated problems, effective sediment control strategies are required in catchment management plans. The precise link between upstream erosion and sediment mobilization and

downstream sediment yield and contaminant transfer involves many uncertainties, due to sediment retention and both short- and longer-term storage at intermediate locations, such as delta head, the River channels, its floodplains etc. The proportion of the sediment mobilized within a catchment that is intercepted and stored during transfer or delivery through the catchment will frequently exceed the proportion exported. Better management point of view, it is therefore essential to consider the sediment system in its entirety, instead focusing only on the downstream fluxes. The sediment budget concept provides an effective basis for representing the key components of the sediment delivery system within a catchment and for assembling the necessary data to elucidate, understand and predict catchment sediment delivery (Reid and Dunne, 1996; Owens, 2005; Rommens et al., 2006). Sediment budget concept A sediment budget is a volumetric accounting of the material eroded and deposited in a given stretch of coast (Stapor, 1973). It is based on quantification of sediment transport, erosion, and deposition for a given coastal segment. The sediment usually discussed is sand, and the controlling processes are either alongshore drift or those caused by humans. Any process that increases the quantity of sediments available downdrift in a given coastal segment is a source, whereas any process that decreases the quantity of sediments available downdrift is a sink. The coastal sector, for which Sediment budget is to be calculated, would have shore-parallel boundaries landward of the line of expected erosion and at or beyond the seaward limit of significant transport (CERC, 1977). It is also applicable at the catchment scale, which is now widely adopted as the most appropriate spatial unit for characterizing and managing diffuse source sediment problems. Based on amass balance of sources, sinks and outputs, the sediment budget of a catchment provides an effective means to understand the interaction and linkages between sediment mobilization, transport, storage and yield (Slaymaker, 2003). The utility of the concept in relation to catchment management lies in the identification of the key sources, stores and transfer pathways. The sediment delivery ratio, which expresses the ratio of the sediment output or sediment yield from the catchment to the total sediment mobilization within the catchment, provides a valuable measure of the importance of storage and thus of the overall catchment response. The primary source of the sediments deposited on the beaches is the weathering of land; the sediments are then transported through rivers to the ocean. Rivers are the major source for

the littoral drift and the annual discharge of sediments to sea along the Indian coast is about 1.2 ! 1012 kg which accounts roughly 10 per cent of the global sediment flux to the world ocean (Subramanian, 1993). There are 14 major rivers, 44 medium rivers and more than 200 minor rivers along the Indian coast, which are acting as predominant sources for the littoral drift. The average annual runoff from the major, medium and minor rivers of India is 1406 ! 109 m3, 112 ! 109 m3 and 127 ! 109 m3, respectively (Chandramohan et al., 2001). Next to rivers, the headlands and beach erosion contribute significantly as sources along the Indian coast. The quantities of materials contributed by headland erosion and aeolian transport are both less than 2% of river transport. In addition to this, direct runoff and rainfall contribute to the loss of sediments as rainwash from sub-aerial portion of the beach. Another main source of sand for a particular region can be of an eroding up coast cliff and/or beach. Beaches supply sand when the wave and longshore current transport capacity at a point exceeds the supply of sand from updrift sources to the point. Beach erosion occurs at an increased rate during storms. The contribution of shelf erosion to suspended sediments in the ocean is unknown and appears to be of a very low order. Many coastal sinks are ephemeral in nature and store sediment for a short geological time span before it moves further downslope. The time span for which the sediment remains in a coastal sink varies from a few minutes or hours in the case of some tidal beaches, to several million years in the case of coastal geological rock formations. In many areas, sediments are transported short or for a distance alongshore from their source or sources before being deposited at one or more semi-permanent locations known as sinks (Sorensen, 1978). Submarine canyons along the coast play important role as a sink. Harbors, bay and estuary with tide generated reversing flow can trap large volumes of the sediment transported alongshore. The flood tide drives the sediment through the inlet, where it is deposited in quiet water. The ebb tide may carry sand far enough offshore to be effectively removed from the littoral zone. Sand may also be trapped adjacent to jetties constructed to stabilize the entrance channel. Lagoons and estuaries act as long term sediment sinks for marine sand. Wind might cause a net seaward transport of sand from the dunes to the littoral zone but at most locations; sediments are blown predominantly to the dune field from the beach. Another minor loss is due to the mining of beaches for sand and placer deposits. Although tidal marshes are dominantly composed of silt and clay, sand may be common in the channels draining the marshes and hence, the marsh acts as a sink. The deposition

over the beach face and the subsequent Aeolian inland transport forming as large, high dunes are the major sink phenomena observed along the Indian coast, particularly along the coasts of South Tamil Nadu and Orissa. Also the lagoons, estuaries, beach storage, sand spits, siltation at harbor channels, delta heads, the River channels, its floodplains and formation of marshy lands act as main sinks for the sediments. The construction of inland dams, irrigation barrages, has drastically reduced the sediment load brought to the sea. Many coastal segments experience erosion regularly due to the fall in influx of sediments and the increased wave energy. Further, Rock fractures, which are parallel to the coast, accelerate the erosive activity of waves. Sediment budget estimation Sediment mobilization, transport and storage are characterized by spatial and temporal variability (Walling, 1998) and it is necessary to take account of this variability while constructing a sediment budget. There is no well-defined single procedure for establishing a comprehensive sediment budget for an area. It has proved difficult to adapt traditional measurement techniques to address the spatial and temporal variability associated with the operation of sediment mobilization and transfer processes at the catchment scale. Traditional techniques, including the use of erosion pins, profilometers and photogrammetry to document erosion rates, and the use of sediment traps or post-event surveys to document sediment storage, possess many logistical and operational limitations as well cost constraints (Collins and Walling, 2004). The potential for coupling recent advances in sediment tracing technique along with traditional monitoring techniques has, however, provided new opportunities to assemble the information required for sediment budget construction (Walling, 2003, 2004, 2006; Walling et al., 2001, 2006). The process of transport of sand is presented in Fig. 2. From these, an estimate of sediment balance can be made qualitatively. Wave erosion of shores and cliffs, dune and backshore erosion by waves, winds, and streams, landward transfer from offshore by storm waves, and carbonate production by organisms are identified as sources. Sediment trapped in inlets, estuaries, bays, and dunes, or transferred to offshore slopes, plus carbonate loss, and mining and dredging are identified as sinks. Within the study area, the contributions of sources and losses due to sinks are assessed qualitatively as significant, moderate, marginal, and unknown (Fig. 2).

These techniques include the use of fallout radionuclides to estimate soil redistribution and floodplain deposition rates, sediment fingerprinting to establish sediment sources, more traditional sampling techniques to document storage of fine sediment on the channel bed and continuous monitoring using turbidity sensors to quantify the suspended sediment flux at the catchment outlet (Walling and Collins, 2000; Walling et al., 2001, 2002 & 2006). New approaches to assembling the data required to construct reliable sediment budgets has been the use of fallout radionuclides as sediment tracers (Walling, 2004). Radionuclides are commonly rapidly and strongly adsorbed by soil particles and their subsequent redistribution proves a means of tracing sediment mobilization, transfer and deposition. Assessment of the post redistribution of the radionuclides offers a basis for documenting time-integrated rates and patterns of sediment redistribution and storage within the system. The majority of studies employing fallout radionuclides to trace sediment mobilisation and delivery have been based upon measurements of caesium-137 (137Cs) activities and inventories. Remote sensing is extremely valuable in detecting various coastal features and to analyze them in the integrated manner. Availability of repetitive synoptic and multi-spectral data from various satellite platforms viz. Indian Remote sensing Satellite (IRS), LANDSAT, SPOT are helpful to generate information on varied aspects of the coastal and near shore environment, including sources, sinks and transport path. Ocean color data from OCANSAT (OCM I II), SeaWiFS, MODIS provide information on sediments transport path, sources of sediment erosion and deposition and also other aspects useful for studying coastal ecosystems. In India, satellite based information has been used for generating inventory on coastal habitats, landforms, land use and shoreline assessment for determining vulnerability index and understanding sediment dynamics. The transport direction and amount of long-term average shore drift are of vital importance while estimating sediment budget. Transportation of clay-size suspended sediment particles along with the fluxes of organic matter, nutrients, and pollutants along with rivers causes turbidity in coastal waters. The first band of TM imagery (Fig. 3) provides a synoptic view of turbid water masses which helps in understanding their distribution variation and dispersion of total suspended matter (TSM). On satellite images the sharp contrast between various sediment laden waters is noticeable. Tonal variation is considered as a measure of turbidity concentration. Texture and pattern help in monitoring distribution and movement of turbid water masses. Current directions are indicated by the sediment laden plumes as they become elongated and pointed in the direction of flow. Remote sensing images aided with G.I.S.

software help in detecting shoreline changes accurately. Shore line change study exactly indicates areas and trends of erosion and deposition which are nothing but sources and sinks for a budget along the coast. Sediment budget can be deduced from this information. Based on tonal, textural variation, direction of propagation of waves and dispersion pattern of the sediment plumes, local current direction, shore drift direction and net shore drift direction are determined and marked on an offshore turbidity distribution map prepared by overlaying on the TM imagery (Figure 4). Turbidity pattern distribution study provides sound base for determining sediment budget of the region. Analysis of the TM images acquired during successive months for two or three consecutive years, determines the accurate net drift direction, the rate of accretion or the erosion, erodes volume, deposited volume and thus suggest quantitative budget. Beach profile monitoring at selected locations helps in confirming sediment budget in deltaic region. Conclusion The above discussion emphasizes that the design of sediment control strategies should be founded on a holistic understanding of the sediment dynamics of the catchment concerned. A sediment budget fulfils that need, by providing key information on the sources, sinks and transfers involved. Focusing attention on an individual component of the sediment delivery system, without appropriate understanding of the overall sediment budget, may result in an incorrect assessment of the potential benefits of sediment mitigation programmes. It is suggested that the sediment budget concept should be more widely adopted and utilized as a practical framework to support the design and implementation of sediment control programmes aimed at reducing pollution by fine sediment and thus the understanding of the sedimentological functioning of these units as sinks and sources of terrestrial matter helps in understanding the propagation and thereby arresting pollutants in the marine system. Acknowledgements The authors express their sincere thanks to Director, National Institute of Oceanography. Source for TM & ETM dataset is the Global Land Cover Facility, http://www.landcover.org. The authors are thankful to GSFC DAAC, NASA, USA for SeaWiFS and MODIS data. NIO contribution Number is

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Fig. 1. East Coast Rivers and their deltas in the study area.

Fig. 2. Quantitative estimation (in mg/l) of Suspended sediment using SEADAS software and SeaWiFS (post-monsoon season) and MODIS data (of pre-monsoon season) have been presented as Fig. 2a & 2b respectively. Suspended sediment movement is shown by arrows. Black color within ocean indicates no-data region. Side color bar provides quantitative values.

Fig. 3. Thematic mapper (TM) imageries of Landsat 5 (dated 17 March 1985) overlying direction of propagation of waves, dispersion pattern of the sediment plumes, local current direction, shore drift direction and net shore drift direction.

Fig. 4.Schematic diagram showing elements and their contribution to sediment budget study along the coast.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode Proceedings of Global Geospatial Conference 2013 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 4-8 November 2013