To assess the quality of the Egyptian Red Sea coastal waters for the sustainable use and development, due to its importance for the national income, four field campaigns were annually carried out during the period from 2011-2013 to investigate the hydrography, nutrient salts, heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons. Except for the area of Bir Shalatein, the results of beach litter cleared out that the shoreline of the studied area is not affected by man-made litter. No sewage could be observed. The results of the present study showed that water temperature followed seasonal changes in air temperature. Red Sea water is more saline than adjacent Arabian Sea. DO revealed high values and presence of well oxygenated waters. Minor changes in the distribution of pH, BOD, DOM and COD, revealed that limited effects of human impacts and depend mainly on the dynamics of its water as well as on the geographical location. Low Chl-a and TSM concentrations and high transparency revealed that also the effect of human impacts is almost negligible. Significantly higher sea water temperatures, TSM, pH, DO, BOD, DOM, and COD were observed in summer season compared to their corresponding values in winter season. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations were quite low because there is little nutrient input from soil, agriculture and pollution on land. Based on the annual mean values, the pattern concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen forms followed the order: NO 3 > NH 4 > NO 2. The Red Sea coastal waters are classified as oligotrophic to mesotrophic state. A remarkable increase of PO 4 concentration was observed in the middle Red Sea stations due to huge amounts of effluents enriched with phosphate from the main shipping and industry of Phosphate Companies. SiO 4 displayed a large variability due to the supply of SiO 4 , which flows in the Red Sea through the strait of Bab El-Mandab, biological consumption, organic matter decomposition and the partial dissolution of quartz particle transported to the sea from the surrounding desert during How to cite this paper:

In order to assess the quality of the Aqaba Gulf coastal waters for the sustainable use and development, and consequently for the national income, four field campaigns were annually carried out during the period from 2011-2013 to monitor hydrographic variables, i.e. temperature, salinity, pH, etc., nutrients, some heavy metals, i.e. iron, lead, copper, cadmium, chromium, etc.

The coastal region of the Suez Gulf, is one of the most densely industrialized zones in Egypt. In order to assess the quality of Suez Gulf coastal waters for the sustainable use and development, and consequently for the national income, 12 field campaigns were carried out in 3 years (2011)(2012)(2013). The results of beach litter cleared out that the shoreline of the Suez Gulf, especially Ras Gharib area was subjected to many factors which undoubtedly affected the rate of man-made litter accumulation. The most abundant visible items were general litter as they represented 30.64% of the total items encountered. Oil, seaweeds as well as old and new tar constituted 15.41%, 14.85% and 11.84%, respectively. The increase on the levels of water temperature, Chl-a, TSM, DO, BOD, DOM, COD, ammonium ion, nitrite, nitrate, total phosphorus, silicate and total nitrogen developed a eutrophic region. In general, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) species were almost 9 times higher in the northern parts compared to the southern ones revealing that the northern parts of the Gulf were more affected by human impacts compared to the southern area. Moreover, concentrations of most studied metals such as Zn, Mn, Ni, Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb, and Hg were higher in Northern parts compared to southern parts of the Gulf. The concentrations of dissolved metals in the northern and southern Suez Gulf followed the following order: Fe  Zn  Cu > Pb > Mn > Ni > Cr > Cd  Hg. Except for Hg, concentrations of metals were in the acceptable ranges recommended internationally. Hg concentrations especially in the northern Suez Gulf were slightly higher than the permissible levels. As the northern parts of the Gulf were more suffered from oil pollution, total petroleum hydrocarbons revealed higher concentrations in the northern parts compared to the southern parts of the Gulf. Seasonal variations, on the other hand, indicated higher levels of DO, BOD, DOM and COD, chloropyll-a, TSM, ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen in winter compared to their corresponding 1498values in summer. In general, the majority of TN and TP in winter were in the form of organic-N (87.2%) and organic P (94.1%). These percentages were 77.8% and 37.3%, respectively in summer. The surface coastal water of the Suez Gulf was principally, P-limited for phytoplankton growth in different investigated regions. Furthermore, the DIN/DIP ratio was higher (94.2:1) in winter season compared to summer season (6.3:1). Concentrations of Fe, Zn, Cd, and Hg in winter exhibited significantly higher values compared to their corresponding values in summer. On contrast, Mn, Ni, Cu, Cr, and Pb exhibited significantly higher values in summer compared to their corresponding values in winter. Furthermore, concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons were significantly higher in winter than in summer which is mainly attributed to the increase in the rate of evaporation for petroleum hydrocarbons in summer due to the increase in water temperature and water salinity. In general, the maximum concentration was ...