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E-mail: aghadban@safat.kisr.edu.kw

ABSTRACT

An 18 month research project was conducted to accomplish a qualitative and quantitative assessment of suspended sediment and associated pollutants in Kuwait Bay. As part of this study satellite imagery was used for semi-quantitative assessment of suspended sediment and transport paths. The assessment was based on field measurements, laboratory examination, data interpretation and analysis of remote sensing data. This paper highlights the nature of the investigation and the main results obtained from the study.  To achieve the stated objective, the investigation was done in two phases. Phase one describes the utilization and usefulness of selected Landsat images for the study, and phase 2 uses SPOT imagery, supplemented with ground truth data to calculate the amount of inferred sediment budget associated with the upper layer of the water column.  The results of the analyses imply that the top layer of surface waters (about 1 meter) of Kuwait Bay carries in general, about 29 tons of sediments that can be deposited at a later stage, depending on some oceanographic conditions such as slack winds and the nature of tides whether neap or spring tides. It can be inferred, therefore, that Kuwait Bay can be considered as a depositional environment, receiving considerable input from suspended sediments approaching from the offshore area as well as from Shatt al Arab. 

Keywords: Kuwait Bay, Qualitative & quantitative assessment, Satellite imagery, Suspended particulate