Assessing nutrient salts and trace metals distributions in the coastal water of Jeddah, Red Sea

In this study, eighteen sites at Jeddah coastal area, Red Sea, have been assessed for water quality status, depending on nutrients, metals, Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and physical variables during 2018 and 2019. The investigated parameters of the Water Quality Index (WQI) are temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), DO saturation, oxidizable organic matter (OOM), suspended particulate matter (SPM), Chl-a, ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, total nitrogen, reactive phosphate, total phosphorus, silicate, Zn, Fe, Mn Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni. The results revealed that the pH values were slightly alkaline with a range of 7.85–8.20. The results of other parameters were as follow: salinity (36.95–42.61PSU), DO (5.22–6.67 mg/L), OOM (0.40–1.23 mg/L), SPM (12.39–21.5 mg/L), Chl-a (0.10–0.83 µg/L). The range of nutrients (μM) were 0.07–0.22, 0.45–1.47, 9.62–18.64, 23.31–57.65, 0.05–0.15, 0.55–2.78 and 2.54–5.51 for NH(4)/N, NO(2)/N, NO(3)/N, TN, PO(4)/P, TP and SiO(4)/Si, respectively. Cluster analysis was used to classify the stations studied. From the current study, five clusters were found, indicating the need to perform cluster analysis in the water quality assessment process to confirm the durability and consistency of the data discovered in the current application.