Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial assessment of water quality using chemometrics in the Pearl River Estuary, China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Frontiers of Earth Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A cruise was commissioned in the summer of 2009 to evaluate water quality in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE). Chemometrics such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Cluster analysis (CA) and Self-Organizing Map (SOM) were employed to identify anthropogenic and natural influences on estuary water quality. The scores of stations in the surface layer in the first principal component (PC1) were related to NH4-N, PO4-P, NO2-N, NO3-N, TP, and Chlorophyll a while salinity, turbidity, and SiO3-Si in the second principal component (PC2). Similarly, the scores of stations in the bottom layers in PC1 were related to PO4-P, NO2-N, NO3-N, and TP, while salinity, Chlorophyll a, NH4-N, and SiO3-Si in PC2. Results of the PCA identified the spatial distribution of the surface and bottom water quality, namely the Guangzhou urban reach, Middle reach, and Lower reach of the estuary. Both cluster analysis and PCA produced the similar results. Self-organizing map delineated the Guangzhou urban reach of the Pearl River that was mainly influenced by human activities. The middle and lower reaches of the PRE were mainly influenced by the waters in the South China Sea. The information extracted by PCA, CA, and SOM would be very useful to regional agencies in developing a strategy to carry out scientific plans for resource use based on marine system functions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Astel A, Tsakovski S, Barbieri P, Simeonov V (2007). Comparison of self-organizing maps classification approach with cluster and principal components analysis for large environmental data sets. Water Res, 41(19): 4566–4578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Astel A, Tsakovski S, Simeonov V, Reisenhofer E, Piselli S, Barbieri P (2008). Multivariate classification and modeling in surface water pollution estimation. Anal Bioanal Chem, 390(5): 1283–1292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cereghino R, Park Y S (2009). Review of the Self-Organizing Map (SOM) approach in water resources. Environ Model Softw, 24(8): 945–947 (Commentary)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen J C, Heinke G W, Zhou M J (2004). The Pearl River Estuary Pollution Project (PREPP). Cont Shelf Res, 24(16): 1739–1744

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung K C, Leung H M, Wong M H (2008). Metal concentrations of common freshwater and marine fish from the Pearl River Delta, South China. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol, 54(4): 705–715

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Çinar O, Merdun H (2009). Application of an unsupervised artificial neural network technique to multivariant surface water quality data. Ecol Res, 24(1): 163–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dou L, Du H Y, He J M, You Y H, Zhou Y Z, Liu Z N, Zhu X (2009). Spatial distribution and sources of heavy metals in soil of Dongguan City, Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, Guangdong Province, China. Environ Sci, 29(12): 3496–3502

    Google Scholar 

  • Duzgoren-Aydin N S (2007). Sources and characteristics of lead pollution in the urban environment of Guangzhou. Sci Total Environ, 385(1–3): 182–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall P O J, Holby O, Kollberg S, Samuelson M O (1992). Chemical fluxes and mass balances in a marine fish cage farm.4. Nitrogen. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, 89: 81–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison P J, Yin K D, Lee J H W, Gan J P, Liu H B (2005). Physicalbiological coupling in the Pearl River Estuary. Symposium on Coastal Ecosystem Responses to Changing Nutrient Inputs from Large Temperate and Sub-Tropical Rivers, Fujian, PEOPLES R CHINA, 1405–1415

  • Hodgkiss I J, Lu S H (2004). The effects of nutrients and their ratios on phytoplankton abundance in Junk Bay, Hong Kong. Hydrobiologia, 512(1–3): 215–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holby O, Hall P O J (1991). Chemical fluxes and mass balances in a marine fish cage farm. II: Phosphor. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, 70: 263–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu J T, Li S Y (2009). Modeling the mass fluxes and transformations of nutrients in the Pearl River Delta, China. J Mar Syst, 78(1): 146–167

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang X P, Huang LM, Yue WZ (2003). The characteristics of nutrients and eutrophication in the Pearl River Estuary, South China. Mar Pollut Bull, 47(1–6): 30–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohonen T (1982). Self-organized formation of topologically correct feature maps. Biol Cybern, 43(1): 59–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohonen T (2001). Self-Organizing Maps (3rd ed). Berlin: Springer

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Zhang G, Xu Y, Liu X A, Li X D (2010). Dry and wet particle deposition of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, South China. J Environ Monit, 12(9): 1730–1736

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li K Z, Yin J Q, Huang L M, Tan Y H (2006). Spatial and temporal variations of mesozooplankton in the Pearl River Estuary, China. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 67(4): 543–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu S M, Zhang J, Chen H T, Zhang G S (2005). Factors influencing nutrient dynamics in the eutrophic Jiaozhou Bay, North China. Prog Oceanogr, 66(1): 66–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu R S, Lo S L (2002). Diagnosing reservoir water quality using selforganizing maps and fuzzy theory. Water Res, 36(9): 2265–2274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira-Filho J, Schettini C A F, Rörig L, Siegle E (2001). Intratidal variation and net transport of dissolved inorganic nutrients, POC and chlorophyll a in the Camboriu River Estuary, Brazil. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 53(2): 249–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qiao M, An T C, Zeng X Y, Zhang D L, Li G Y, Sheng G Y, Fu J M, Zhang G X, Guo J (2010). Safety assessment of the source water within the Pearl River Delta on the aspect of organochlorine pesticides contamination. J Environ Monit, 12(9): 1666–1677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Redfield A C, Ketchum B H, Richards F A (1963). The influence of organisms on the composition of seawater. In: Hill M N, ed. The Sea. New York: John Wiley, 26–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Shrestha S, Kazama F (2007). Assessment of surface water quality using multivariate statistical techniques: a case study of the Fuji river basin, Japan. Environ Model Softw, 22(4): 464–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh K P, Malik A, Mohan D, Sinha S (2004). Multivariate statistical techniques for the evaluation of spatial and temporal variations in water quality of Gomti River (India)–A case study. Water Res, 38(18): 3980–3992

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song M Y, Hwang H J, Kwak I S, Ji C W, Oh Y N, Youn B J, Chon T S (2007). Self-organizing mapping of benthic macroinvertebrate communities implemented to community assessment and water quality evaluation. Ecol Modell, 203(1–2): 18–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tao Y X, Hills P (1999). Assessment of alternative wastewater treatment approaches in Guangzhou, China. Water Sci Technol, 39(5): 227–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vega M, Pardo R, Barrado E, Deban L (1998). Assessment of seasonal and polluting effects on the quality of river water by exploratory data analysis. Water Res, 32(12): 3581–3592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y S (2013). Quantitative Marine Ecology-Theory, Method and Practice. Beijing: Science Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Wei P, Huang L M (2010). Water quality and eutrophication in the Guangzhou Sea Zone of the Pearl River Estuary. Chin J Oceanology Limnol, 28(1): 113–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wen WY, Zhang G X, Du WC (1995). A study on water pollution in the Zhujing (Pearl River) Estuary. In: Wong C K, Chu K H, Chen Q C, Ma X L, eds. Environmental Research in Pearl River and Coastal Area. Guangzhou: Guangdong Higher Education Press, 99–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong L A, Chen J, Xue H, Dong L X, Su J L, Heinke G (2003). A model study of the circulation in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) and its adjacent coastal waters: 1. Simulations and comparison with observations. Journal of Geophysical Research, 108(C5): 249–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu M L, Ling J, Long L J, Zhang S, Zhang Y Y, Wang Y S, Dong J D (2012). Influence of human activity and monsoon dynamics on spatial and temporal hydrochemistry in tropical coastal waters (Sanya Bay, South China Sea). Chem Ecol, 28(4): 375–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu M L, Wang Y S (2007). Using chemometrics to evaluate anthropogenic effects in Daya Bay, China. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci, 72(4): 732–742

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu M L, Wang Y S, Sun C C, Wang H L, Dong J D, Yin J P, Han S H (2010). Identification of coastal water quality by statistical analysis methods in Daya Bay, South China Sea. Mar Pollut Bull, 60(6): 852–860

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ye L, Cai Q H, Liu R Q, Cao M (2009). The influence of topography and land use on water quality of Xiangxi River in Three Gorges Reservoir region. Environmental Geology, 58(5): 937–942

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin K D, Qian P Y, Wu MC S, Chen J C, Huang LM, Song X Y, Jian W J (2001). Shift from P to N limitation of phytoplankton growth across the Pearl River estuarine plume during summer. Mar Ecol Prog Ser, 221: 17–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J (1996). Nutrient elements in large Chinese estuaries. Cont Shelf Res, 16(8): 1023–1045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao H (1990). Evolution of the Pearl River Estuary. Beijing: Ocean Press

  • Zhou F, Liu Y, Guo H C (2007). Application of multivariate statistical methods to water quality assessment of the watercourses in northwestern new territories, Hong Kong. Environ Monit Assess, 132(1–3): 1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou H Y, Peng X T, Pan J M (2004). Distribution, source and enrichment of some chemical elements in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary, China. Cont Shelf Res, 24(16): 1857–1875

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41206082 and 31270528), Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong (Nos. S2013020012823), Scientific Research Project of Guangzhou (No. 15020023), the project of Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (No. 2012A032100004), the projects of knowledge innovation program of State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography (Nos. LTOZZ1402 and LTOZZ1604), the Key Laboratory for Ecological Environment in Coastal Area, State Oceanic Administation (No. 201507), Key Laboratory of Fishery Ecology and Environment, Guangdong Province (No. LFE-2010-14) and the visiting scholar project of the Chinese Academy Sciences overseas study program.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, China

    Meilin Wu, Youshao Wang, Junde Dong, Fulin Sun, Yutu Wang & Yiguo Hong

  2. Marine Biology Research Station at Daya Bay, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518121, China

    Youshao Wang, Fulin Sun & Yutu Wang

Authors
  1. Meilin Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Youshao Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Junde Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fulin Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yutu Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yiguo Hong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Meilin Wu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wu, M., Wang, Y., Dong, J. et al. Spatial assessment of water quality using chemometrics in the Pearl River Estuary, China. Front. Earth Sci. 11, 114–126 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-016-0585-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-016-0585-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation