The Hooghly Estuary is a source of livelihood for millions of people, along with the sustenance of marine biodiversity. The frequent estimation of the water quality is a vital process for the estuary, mainly because of global warming and the changes it brings. Sentinel-3 data and Global Biogeochemical Analysis and Forecast Products from Copernicus for the years 2021 and 2022 were used in this study to assess the different water quality parameters, namely, Chlorophyll-a, Total Suspended Matter (TSM), Kd490 as a proxy for turbidity, Adg443 for Coloured Detrital Organic Matter (CDOM) concentration, Sea surface temperature (SST), Nitrate, Phosphate, Silicate, pH, Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC) and Molecular dissolved oxygen (DO2), in the Hooghly Estuary. The main changes were observed during the monsoon and post-monsoon due to heavy rainfall causing runoffs and an increase in sediments from land, along with nutrients in the estuary, with lower SST and increased chlorophyll-a, which could also lead to eutrophication and harmful algal blooms, depleting oxygen levels and causing harm to the aquatic biota. The effects of cyclonic storms were also observed during the pre-monsoon in 2021 and the post-monsoon in 2022. Satellite data was therefore found to be adequate but not fully accurate for the assessment of water quality parameters in the Hooghly Estuary.
Portel V. & Prasad R. C., 2023. Assessment of water quality parameters in the Hooghly Estuary, India, using sentinel-3 and global biogeochemical analysis and forecasts products. Research Square. Article.
