Interrelationships and distribution of hydrochemical parameters in coastal waters off Visakhapatnam, east coast of India

Abstract

The distribution of hydrochemical parameters in the coastal waters off Visakhapatnam during the July 1979-June 1980 showed distinct changes with time The observed supersaturation and saturation of oxygen in surface waters was due to favourable plankton growth The upward tilting of isolines of oxygen saturation indicate the presence of upwelling during premonsoon season A reasonably good agreement between the calculated vertical diffusion coefficients and the surface-bottom differential in dissolved oxygen concentration (Delta 02) values was noticed The distribution of nutrients showed two major peaks A significant correlation between nitrate and phosphate in surface and bottom waters indicated the prominence and association of these nutrients with planktonic growth The data on the upward fluxes of N, P, Si, demonstrate that these fluxes are related to productivity occurring during different seasons