Environmental monitoring of the Zhujiang Estuary and its coastal waters

The Zhujiang (Pearl River) Estuary is a complex water system whose catchments basin covers a very large part of southern China. The large quantity of fresh water carried by the river system flows into the northern coast of the South China Sea through its eight inlets. The Zhujiang River Delta has experienced the fastest economic growth in China during the past two decades. Rapid population expansion and increased industrial development coupled with insufficient waste management turned the Zhujiang Estuary into waste disposal channels just before entering the coastal waters. The water quality of the estuaries and the coastal oceans has become polluted. During the past two years, an intensive study and monitoring efforts of the pollutions of these waters have been made. A systematic and integrated monitoring task including shore-based measurements, shipboard in-situ measurements, and satellite and radar remote sensing surveys has been completed. Comprehensive collection of physical, chemical and biological parameters has been accomplished and a database has been established. Unlike the previous large scale-monitoring task in which the various pollutant concentrations were the objective, the present study aims to understand the process of the pollution from their initial disposal to their final states. The understanding of the processes makes it possible to evaluate the severity of the pollution with respect to the sustainability. Also the objective is to incorporate these processes into the mathematical models from which a predictive capability of the pollution situation can be realized. The present presentation will describe the planning, methodology and the results of this effort.