Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
2
National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Egypt
Abstract
In many coastal, estuarine, and freshwater settings across the world, contaminated sediment is a serious environmental issue. Bardawil Lagoon in North Sinai, Egypt, is a remarkable Mediterranean semi-enclosed coastal water feature that has been designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. The current study aims to characterize the physical and chemical properties of the Bardawil Lagoon sediments. In surface sediments taken from the Bardawil Lagoon at 12 stations over the course of four seasons in 2021, chemical variables (pH, EC, CaCO3, OM, cations, and anions), porosity, water holding-capacity and grain size analyses have all been measured. In the present result, the soil classes are loamy sand (sand > silt > clay). Autumn and winter have the greatest mean values of WHC and porosity, which are 40.42 and 33.57%, respectively. In this study, the soil was slightly alkaline to alkaline at all sites, and the greatest EC value of 10.78 mS/cm was recorded in the autumn season. Additionally, most chemical variables (CaCO3, OM, HCO3-, Cl-, SO4-2, Na+, K+, Ca+2, Mg+2) had their maximum values during the autumn season, while the summer season had their lowest values. The sediment variables follow the seasonal order: autumn > spring > winter > summer. The aquatic environment depends heavily on bottom sediments, which act as significant pollutant sinks. However, a yearly investigation of the physical and chemical characteristics is necessary to determine the best management strategy for bottom sediments.
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