The current study focused on the monitoring of pollution loads in the Kalpakkam coastal zone of India in terms of physico-chemical characteristics of sediment. The investigation took place at 12 sampling points around the Kalpakkam coastal zone for one year beginning from 2019. The seasonal change of nutrients in the sediment, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, total organic carbon, and particles size distribution, was calculated. Throughout the study period, the pH (7.55 to 8.99), EC (0.99 to 4.98 dS/m), nitrogen (21.74 to 58.12 kg/ha), phosphorus (7.5 to 12.9 kg/ha), potassium (218 to 399 kg/ha), total organic carbon (0.11 to 0.88%), and particle size cumulative percent of sediments (from 9.01 to 9.39%) was observed. A number of multivariate statistical techniques were used to examine the changes in sediment quality. The population means were substantially different according to the three-way ANOVA test at the 0.05 level. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis showed a substantial association with all indicators throughout all seasons, implying contamination from both natural and anthropogenic causes. The ecosystem of the Kalpakkam coastal zone has been affected by nutrient contamination.
The current study aims to investigate the influence of seasonal changes on the pollution loads of the sediment of a coastal area in terms of its physicochemical features. The research will focus on analyzing the nutrients, organic carbon and particle size of the sediment samples collected from 12 different sampling stations in 3 different seasons along the coastal area. Additionally, the study discusses about the impact of anthropogenic activities such as agriculture and urbanization and natural activities such as monsoon on the sediment quality of the coastal area. The nutrient changes in the sediment were found to be: pH (7.96-9.45), EC (2.89-5.23 dS/m), nitrogen (23.98-57.23 mg/kg), phosphorus (7.75-11.36 mg/kg), potassium (217-398 mg/kg), overall organic carbon (0.35-0.99%), and sediment proportions (8.91-9.3%). Several statistical methods were used to investigate changes in sediment quality. According to the three-way ANOVA test, the mean value of the sediments differs significantly with each season. It correlates significantly with principal factor analysis and cluster analysis across seasons, implying contamination from both natural and man-made sources. This study will contribute to developing effective management strategies for the protection and restoration of degraded coastal ecosystem.