Lockdown effects on total suspended solids concentrations in the Lower Min River (China) during COVID-19 using time-series remote sensing images

The COVID-19 pandemic in China in the winter-spring of 2019–2020 has decreased and even stopped many human activities. This study investigates whether there were any changes in the water quality of the Lower Min River (China) during the lockdown period. The time-series remote sensing images from November 2019 to April 2020 was used to examine the dynamics of the river’s total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations in the period. A new remote sensing-based prototype was developed to recalibrate an existing algorithm for retrieving TSS concentrations in the river. The Nechad and the Novoa algorithms were used to validate the recalibrated algorithm. The results show that the recalibrated algorithm is highly consistent with the two algorithms. All of the three algorithms indicate significant fluctuation in TSS concentrations in the Lower Min River during the study period. February (COVID-19 lockdown period) has witnessed a 48% fall in TSS concentration. The TSS in March–April showed a progressive and recovery back to normal levels of pre-COVID-19. The spatiotemporal change of TSS has worked as a good indicator of human activities, which revealed that the decline of TSS in the lockdown period was due largely to the substantially-reduced discharges from industrial estates, densely-populated city center, and river’s shipping. Remote sensing monitoring of the spatiotemporal changes of TSS helps understand important contributors to the water-quality changes in the river and the impacts of anthropogenic activities on river systems.