Seasonal variations of total suspended matter (TSM) in the Gulf of Khambhat, west coast of India

Abstract

Total Suspended Matter (TSM)is an important parameter for determining the water quality in coastal regions as it is responsible for the reduction in the light available to the aquatic vegetation which subsequently alters the health and quality of the water body In the present study, total suspended matter (TSM) was derived from multi-temporal MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) Terra images Red-band reflectance with a spatial resolution of 250 m was used to study the sediment dynamics of the macro-tidal region of the Gulf of Khambhat for 2009 (drought year) and 2010 (rain fed year) This has been done after establishing a significant correlation of 0.8 with in-situ TSM data Through this study, the relative contribution of factors in the spatial and temporal distribution of total suspended matter concentrations of Gulf of Khambhat has been demonstrated.