No abstract

The present paper deals with the distribution of sediment and sediment-bound nutrients in two important coastal lagoons of southern Kerala such as the Ashtamudi Estuarine Lagoon in the Kollam district and the Kadinamkulam Lagoon in the Thiruvananthapuram district. Among the two lagoons, the former is coast perpendicular, and the latter is coast parallel. An analysis of the textural characteristics reveals that, in both lagoons, the estuarine mouth and areas close to it are dominated by sand and sand-rich sediment species, indicating a high-energy depositional regime prevailing the region. On the other hand, the silt and clay dominant arms are almost sheltered and enjoy a low-energy depositional environment. The nutrient and organic carbon contents in the sheltered areas are significantly higher than the most dynamic high-energy estuarine mouth regions. This peculiar behaviour of these coastal water bodies has to be given adequate importance while laying down strategies for the conservation and management of these fragile aquatic systems in the south-western coast of India in particular and tropical coasts of the world in general.

Water pollution is a major problem worldwide, the management of which requires continuous monitoring and the effective implementation of water resource policy at all levels. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the water quality of three major sub-tributaries of Shendurney river viz. Kallar, Shendurney and Uruliyar which drains through the Shendurney wildlife sanctuary which also forms the catchment of the Kallada reservoir. The reservoir was also brought into the purview of the study and the results revealed a general trend of increasing pollution load from upstream to the downstream. Values of parameters such as pH and DO are higher in samples from the upstream whereas the BOD values which indicate the high concentration of organic matter is higher in the downstream portion of the three streams. The results of the study indicate the deterioration caused due to human interference in the outer and buffer zones of the protected area.