Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

ScienceDirect
Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 19 24

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WATER RESOURCES, COASTAL AND OCEAN

ENGINEERING (ICWRCOE 2015)

SSC Analysis Of South Maharashtra Coast: A Case Study From

Vengurla Coastal Region
Sathish Sathasivam1*, K. Rasheed1, R.S.Kankara1, Manikandan Muthusamy1, Arockiaraj
Samykannu1, Rajan Boopati1
1

ICMAM-PD, MoES, NIOT Campus, Chennai, India. PIN-600100.

athi_geo@yahoo.co.in; rasheed@icmam.gov.in; kankara@icmam.gov.in;
mani372@gmail.com; arocksf@gmail.com; raj.bn1306@gmail.com

Abstract
Suspended sediment transport plays a major role in many coastal, estuarine and offshore engineering applications. The transport
of suspended sediment influences the constructions of harbours, constructions of coastal power stations and refineries, safety of
offshore platforms and pipelines, erosion and accretion of beaches, quality of the water and many other applications. To
understand the suspended sediment transport pattern along South Maharashtra coastal region, a case study was conducted at
Vengurla coastal waters. In order to do that, the sea water samples at 6 transects (18 stations) were collected for analysis of
suspended sediment concentration (SSC) during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon periods. The results showed that during post
monsoon, the SSC pattern at surface, mid and bottom layers having 10-20mg/l, 10-19mg/l and 50-60 mg/l respectively. But
during the pre-monsoon, the respective layers show 5-20mg/l, 4-15mg/l and 70mg/l of SSC concentration. In addition, Ocean
Colour Monitor (OCM) satellite images were analyzed in the same study area to know the SSC distribution pattern. In Vengurla,
post-monsoon, the SSC values of surface coastal waters ranging from 5-15mg/l from OCM satellite images and also SSC is
compared with OBS 5+ profiles. In this paper, the SSC distribution pattern of both seasons is narrated and the validations of SSC
using OCM satellite data are also discussed.
2015
2015The
TheAuthors.
Authors.Published
Published
Elsevier
B.V.

byby
Elsevier
B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of ICWRCOE 2015.
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of ICWRCOE 2015
Keywords: suspended sediment concentration; ocean colour monitor; sediment; validation

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: athi_geo@yahoo.co.in

2214-241X 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of organizing committee of ICWRCOE 2015
doi:10.1016/j.aqpro.2015.02.004

20

Sathish Sathasivam et al. / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 19 24

1. Introduction
Suspended sediment transport plays a major role in many estuarine, coastal and offshore engineering
applications. The transport of suspended sediment influences the erosion and accretion of beaches, construction of
harbours and ports and its maintenance, constructions of power stations and refineries, safety of offshore platforms
and pipelines and also to affect the quality of water and many other applications. The suspended sediment moves
with winds, currents and waves and is transported by the processes of entertainment, transportation and deposition
(Soulsby, 1997). The transportation takes either as a bed load movement or as in suspended load transport; among
this suspended load transport is much more significant and also much greater than that of the bed load transport. A
collection of time series data on the SSC is essential to understand the circulation and sediment transport in and
around the coastal area. The conventional methods are time consuming and it has manual error. The sensor based
data collection such as satellite technique and OBS are having high spatial coverage and cost effective.
2. Study area and physical setting
To understand the suspended sediment pattern along south Maharashtra coast, a case study was conducted at
Vengurla coastal waters (Figure .1). Vengurla is a port city located (1551N 7338E) in the coastal region of
Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, India just north of Goa. Vengurla is having a natural port and was heavily used
during the Portugese rule of Goa. Fishing is the major activity in the port premises. It has an average elevation of
11m above MSL. The hills of Dabholi, Tulas and Mochemad respectively lie in the north, the east and the south of
Vengurla, while the Arabian Sea is located on its west. Vengurla features a tropical monsoon climate. The annual
precipitation is 3,155.3 mm. At Vengurla coastal area, the monthly mean breaking height is around 0.7m from
September to April and exceeds 1m from May to August. The wave height varies between 1.5 to 3.0m and wave
period varies between 5-8s during June to September, 0.5 to 1.5m, 5-6s during October to May respectively. The
predominant wave directions in this area is SW, WSW, W and WNW. The southwesterly waves move the sediment
northwards, whereas the WNW waves transport the sediment southwards (Anup et. al, 2008). Tides in this region
are predominantly semi-diurnal with a range of 0.5-2m. The waves, currents and precipitation at the hinterland will
regulate the SSC distribution in and around the Vengurla coastal waters. To understand the SSC distribution, a
study was conducted in Vengurla coastal waters during the post-monsoon (Feb, 2014) and pre-monsoon (May,
2014) using in situ water sample along with OBS-5+ observation and OCM satellite images. The results are
discussed in this paper.

Fig 1. Study area of Vengurla coastal region, south Maharashtra coast indicating stations and transects.

Sathish Sathasivam et al. / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 19 24

3. Materials & Method

3.1. Field Techniques
Fieldwork was carried out the coastal waters off Vengurla, south Maharashtra coast of India (1549'30"N 1556'9"N; 7337'48"E 7331'27"E) (Figure 1) for the periods of post-monsoon and pre-monsoon. Surface as well
as subsurface water samples at 5m ,10m,15m were collected using equal distance increment methods, both parallel
to coast and across the coast to acquire the composite sample which is representative of SSC at the coastal waters
using a Niskin water sampler. Location map of study area indicating the stations and 6 transects (Tr1-6) are shown
in Figure 1. With the help of Global Positioning System (GPS), sampling stations were carefully fixed. Additionally,
OBS-5+ sensor were also used to get SSC profiles in coastal waters. The OBS-5+ monitors high sediment
concentrations using an infrared laser and a proprietary dual photo-detection system (U. S. Patent No.5, 796,481).
The probe transmits suspended sediment concentration and depth to a PC via an RS-232 link. Along with, the high
resolution OCM sensor is a push broom linear charge coupled device with 8 spectral bands in the visible and NIR
region with bands of 404-424 nm, 431-451 nm, 476-496 nm, 500-520 nm, 546-566 nm, 610-630 nm, 725-755 nm,
845-885 nm (file:///E:/ss/ssc1/OCM-2.pdf). The OCM have higher spatial resolution of around 360 meters,
radiometric resolution of 12 bits, and swath width of 1420 Km, and temporal resolution is two days in any given
area. Oceansat-2 OCM data covering the coastal regions off Vengurla were used to derive SSC.
3.2. Laboratory Techniques
Collected water samples were carefully preserved in plastic containers and brought to the laboratory. Analyses of
all water samples were made at ICMAM-PD sedimentology laboratory based on Strickland and Parsons (1972).
Suspended sediment (dry weight in milligram/litre) for each station was gravimetrically measured. Samples were
filtered through pre-weighed 0.40 m Millipore glass fibre filter paper, the filtered papers dried in micro oven at
75C for 48 hours, and then again weighed in the laboratory using an electronic weighing machine. Globally,
milligram/litre or NTU units are used to measure the SSC.
3.3. OCM data processing
To identify the spatial distribution of SSC, a special product of suspended sediment single band OCM data for
18th February, 2014 was procured from National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) and processed. Calibration and
validation of satellite data were performed in a CAL / VAL lab of ISRO-Space Application Centre. The sequential
OCM-Oceansat-2 data area was analyzed to understand the SSC distribution patterns along the Vengurla coast. This
data was analyzed using ENVI 4.3 for preprocessing of satellite images. Rectification was applied to eliminate
image distortion and bring them to geographic projection (geographic Lat/Lon) with WGS84 datum. Four corners
and one central coordinates were extracted from the image meta file and first level of correction was performed.
Finally, the geometrically corrected OCM-2 SSC images were utilized for analysis and mapping purposes.
4. Results
4.1. SSC in situ
From the water sample analysis, average of SSC values (Figure .2) during the post-monsoon period is 20mg/l. At
the southern side of the study area of 15m depth of Tr-1 and 10m depth of Tr-2, getting abnormal values such as 90
mg/l and 70 mg/l respectively. The reasons for the unusual hike in SSC values may due to churning action of
sediments from the bottom due to currents or any other oceanographic processes. The average SSC is observed to be
little low (15mg/l) during pre-monsoon period (Figure.3). At Tr-4 of 15m depth depicting high value of 70 mg/l. At
15m SSC showing an increase in trend from Tr 1 to 4 and thereafter showing a decreasing towards northern side,
which is well evident from Figure 3.

21

Sathish Sathasivam et al. / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 19 24

SSC(mg/l)

22

90

5S

70

5B

50

10S

30

10M

10

10B

-10

Tr-1

Tr-2

Tr-3

Tr-4

Tr-5

Tr-6

Sample location transects

15S
15M
15B

Fig 2. SSC (mg/l) distribution at six transects of Vengurla coast during the February, 2014

5S

90

5B

SSC(mg/l)

70

10S

50

10M

30

10B

10

15S

-10

Tr-1

Tr-2

Tr-3

Tr-4

Tr-5

Tr-6

15M
15B

Sample location transects

Fig 3. SSC (mg/l) distribution at six transects of Vengurla coast during the May, 2014

4.2. SSC using OCM

It is observed that using OCM analysis, the SSC values (Figure. 4) at surface waters during the post-monsoon
season is ~10 mg/l instead of relatively high values observed in the water sample analysis. During the pre-monsoon,
data gap was exists due to cloud cover and not discussed here in details.

Sathish Sathasivam et al. / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 19 24

Fig 4. Distribution of SSC (mg/l) derived from OCM image during Feb, 2014

4.3. SSC using OBS-5+

Comparisons were made with water sample SSC with OBS-5+ SSC profile (Figure 5) from surface to bottom
during post-monsoon only at the southern part of the study area. It is observed that high SSC values were noticed at
bottom waters when compared to the surface. Southern side of the study area, the surface and middle values of
OBS-5+ is matching but in bottom areas, values are showing a slight deviation from water sample SSC values. From
OBS observations, the SSC values are changing place to place as well as in depth wise. At 5m depth of Tr-2 and Tr3, the SSC values ranging from 15mg/l to 20mg/l but Tr-1 it is extending upto 100mg/l. The 10m bottom water
samples of Tr-1 having high values (40 mg/l) but Tr-2 and Tr-3 values are 10 mg/l to 20 mg/l. At 15m water depth
of Tr-2 and Tr-3 showing high values of 80 mg/l and 40 mg/l respectively, but Tr-1 is showing a low value of 10
mg/l.
SSC (mg/l)

SSC (mg/l)

SSC (mg/l)

Vengurla 15m
Tr-1
Tr-2
Tr-3

4
6

2
8

Depth (m)

Depth (m)

Depth (m)

10

3
8

12

4
10
14
16

12

Fig 5. SSC (mg/l) profile at southern part of Vengurla coastal waters during post-monsoon

100

80

60

40

20

Vengurla 10m
Tr-1
Tr-2
Tr-3

100 0

80

60

40

20

100

80

60

40

20

0
0

Vengura south 5m
Tr-1
Tr-2
Tr-3

23

24

Sathish Sathasivam et al. / Aquatic Procedia 4 (2015) 19 24

5. Discussion
Three primary comparisons to be made for SSC analysis, that is water sample analysis, OCM satellite image and
using OBS-5+ measurements. A few discrepancies can be seen between observed and measured values of SSC
especially in bottom waters. Generally, water sample analysis showed that both in post-monsoon and pre-monsoon
periods, southern region of the study area showing relatively high concentrations of SSC when compared to the
north side. SSC from surface water samples were compared with OCM satellite images during post-monsoon
periods. For water sample analysis, during the post-monsoon, average SSC values of 15 mg/l was observed, whereas
in pre-monsoon, it was observed to be of 10 mg/l. SSC once again compared with OBS measurements. During postmonsoon at 10m and 15m bottom waters, average values of 21mg/l and 14 mg/l were observed and at 10m and 15m
middle waters, SSC value of 14mg/l and 13mg/l respectively observed. Rajawat et. al ( 2005) reported that along the
central parts of west coast of India based OCM data, SSC varies from 0-40mg/l. At south Maharashtra coastal area it
is observed to be at 0-12mg/l which is more less comparable with present study.
6. Conclusion
The SSC is an important role in the transportation, distribution and its budgeting of coastal waters, especially
beach erosion and accretion is concerned. In order to conclude, the surface waters of the study area, SSC
concentration in most of the stations are less than 15mg/l, which indicate the clarity of coastal waters and also
during the study period, erosion is meagre in these areas. The bottom area, SSC is high in most of the stations. SSC
is compared with OCM and OBS data. The surface and subsurface waters SSC are matching with OBS profiles, but
bottom water values are deviating, this may be due to coastal oceanographic processes like currents and waves
which create turbulence in the coatal bottom or due to the churning action of sediments during OBS observations.
References
Anup, R.G., Angusamy, N., Rajamanickam, G.V., 2008. Wave refraction patterns and their role in sediment redistribution along South Konkan,
Maharashtra, India Geo Acta., 7, 69-79.
Avinash, K., Jena, B.,Vinaya, M.S., Jayappa, K.S., Narayana, A.C., Bhat, H.G., 2012.Regionaly tuned algorithm to study the seasonal variation
of suspended sediment concentration using IRS-P4 Ocean Colour Monitor data. The Egyptian journal of remote sensing and space sciences,
15,67-81.
Choi, J. K., Hyun Yang., Han, H.J., Ryu, J. H., Park, Y.J., 2013. Quantitative estimation of the suspended sediment movements in the coastal
region using GOCI, Proceedings 12th International Coastal Symposium (Plymouth, England), Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No.
65, pp. 1367-1372.
Dwarikish, G.S., Usha Natesan., Shailesh, R. Nayak., Prakash, Chauhan., Nagur, C.R.C., 2010. Analysis of IRS-P4 OCM data for estimating the
suspended sediment concentrations along the Mangalore coast, India. International journal of imaging and robotics, 3, S10.
file:///E:/ss/ssc1/OCM-2.pdf
Ramakrishnan, D., Bharti, R., Das, M., 2014. A technique for estimation of suspended sediment concentration in very high turbid coastal waters:
An investigation from Gulf of Cambay, India. Marine Geology, 351, 109-111.
Marlene haimann., Marcel liedermann., Petra lalk., Helmut habersack., 2014. An integrated suspended sediment transport monitoring and
analysis concept, International Journal of Sediment Research, 29, 135-148.
Rajawat, A.S., Mukesh,G., Pradhan,Y.,Thomaskutty,A.V., Sheilesh Nayak., 2005. Coastal processes along the Indian coast case studies based
on synergestic use of IRS- P4 OCM and IRS-1C/1D data.
Soulsby, R., 1997. Dynamics of marine sands. A manual for practical applications. Thomas Telford services limited. pp 249
Strickland, J.D.H., Parsons,T.R.,1972. A Practical Handbook of seawater analysis. Fishery research board, Canada, 310p.