Monitoring of seasonally variability and movement of suspended sediment concentration along Thiruvananthapuram coast using OLI sensor
Abstract. In the recent decades hydrologists, geologists, and stream ecologists have shown substantial interest in analyzing suspended sediments in water. Extracting information like suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in coastal waters is very important for assessment and monitoring of coastal settings and their effects on their ecology. This article demonstrates importance of Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) for monitoring seasonal variation in SSC and movement (pre and post monsoon) along Thiruvananthapuram Coast in India. The data was converted into marine reflectance after correcting due atmospheric errors. SSC was extracted using spectral analysis data analysis. Movement of SSC was monitored using wave direction and significant wave height data. The results revealed that the SSC decreased rapidly with the increase in distance from the beach and depth of the seabed. Wave with higher frequency in deeper water caused sparely circulation of sediments and their concentration at the lower depth in high bathymetry. Thus, the suspended sediments were indirectly proportional to bathymetry and distance from the shoreline and directly proportion to wave direction and littoral current at off-shore. High concentration of sediments was found to be accumulated at shallow depth (