Total suspended sediment (TSS) is a water quality parameter that is used to understand sediment transport, aquatic ecosystem health, and engineering problems. The majority of TSS in water bodies is due to natural and human factors such as brought by river runoff, coastal erosion, dredging activities, and waves. It is an important parameter that should be monitored periodically, particularly over the dynamic coastal region. This study aims to monitor spatiotemporal TSS concentration over Teluk Lipat, Malaysia. To date, there are two commonly used methods to monitor TSS concentration over wide water regions. Firstly, field sampling is known very expensive and time-consuming method. Secondly, the remote sensing technology that can monitor spatiotemporal TSS concentration freely. Although remote sensing technology could overcome these problems, universal empirical or semiempirical algorithms are still not available. Most of the developed algorithms are on a regional basis. To measure TSS concentration over the different regions, a new regional algorithm needs to develop. To do so, two field trip was conducted in the study area concurrent with the passing of Landsat 8. A total of 30 field samples were collected from 30 sampling points during the first field trip and 30 samples from 30 samplings from the second field trip. The samples were then analyzed using an established method to develop the TSS algorithm. The data obtained from the first field trip were then used to develop a regional TSS algorithm using the regression analysis technique. The developed algorithm was then validated by using data obtained from the second field trip. The results demonstrated that TSS in the study area is highly correlated with three Landsat 8 bands, namely green, near-infrared (NIR), and short-wavelength (SWIR) bands, with R2 = 0.79. The TSS map is constructed using the algorithm. Analyses of the image suggest that the highest TSSs are mainly observed along the coastal line and over the river mouth. It suggested that the main contributing factors over the study area are river runoff and wave splash.

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Malaysia and Indonesia, located in the Southeast Asia region, have experienced severe pollution due to haze especially during drought seasons ever since 1980. Among the causes of this series of hazes affecting the region is mostly the industrial scale illegal of slash and burn practices, principally practised in Sumatera and Kalimantan. The main objective of this study is to investigate the carbon monoxide (CO) distribution over Malaysia and Indonesia, within the period from January 1980 to December 2018. This study utilizes MERRA-2 dataset provided by GIOVANNI interface. The monthly CO concentrations fluctuates highly, with the highest measurement observed during the drought season (June to October), meanwhile, the lowest observed are within the rainy season (November to March). The result of this study also shows that Kuala Lumpur, Riau, Palembang and West Kalimantan are the worst affected by CO pollution, especially during forest fires. During normal conditions, the CO value is below 200 parts per billion volume (ppbv). However, the CO concentration peaked as high as 15,208 ppbv during forest fire over Palembang in October 1997. The increment of CO concentration over this area is mostly due to the fire forests that commonly occurs during the drought season.

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