Environmental Unsustainability in Cartagena Bay (Colombia): A Sentinel-3B OLCI Satellite Data Analysis and Terrestrial Nanoparticle Quantification

Alcindo Neckel (), Manal F. Abou Taleb, Mohamed M. Ibrahim, Leila Dal Moro, Giana Mores (), Guilherme Peterle Schmitz, Brian William Bodah, Laércio Stolfo Maculan, Richard Thomas Lermen, Claudete Gindri Ramos and Marcos L. S. Oliveira
Additional contact information
Alcindo Neckel: ATITUS Educação, Passo Fundo 99070-220, Brazil
Manal F. Abou Taleb: Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Humanities in Al-Kharj, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed M. Ibrahim: Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Leila Dal Moro: ATITUS Educação, Passo Fundo 99070-220, Brazil
Giana Mores: ATITUS Educação, Passo Fundo 99070-220, Brazil
Guilherme Peterle Schmitz: ATITUS Educação, Passo Fundo 99070-220, Brazil
Brian William Bodah: Thaines and Bodah Center for Education and Development, 840 South Meadowlark Lane, Othello, WA 99344, USA
Laércio Stolfo Maculan: ATITUS Educação, Passo Fundo 99070-220, Brazil
Richard Thomas Lermen: ATITUS Educação, Passo Fundo 99070-220, Brazil
Claudete Gindri Ramos: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de la Costa, CUC, Calle 58 # 55–66, Barranquilla 080002, Colombia
Marcos L. S. Oliveira: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de la Costa, CUC, Calle 58 # 55–66, Barranquilla 080002, Colombia

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Human actions that modify terrestrial and aquatic environments contribute to unsustainability, influencing the economy and human health. Urban environments are responsible for the dispersion of pollution and nanoparticles (NPs), which can potentially harm the health of human populations and contaminate the fauna and flora of aquatic ecosystems on a global scale. The objective of this study is to analyze the dissemination of nanoparticles in Cartagena Bay, Colombia, during the strong winds/low runoff season of January 2020 and the weak winds/high runoff season of October 2021. This was accomplished using images from the Sentinel-3B OLCI (Ocean Land Color Instrument) satellite in conjunction with an analytical chemical analysis of sediments collected in the study area in a laboratory with advanced electron microscopy. It was possible to obtain, on average, a sample of suspended sediments (SSs) every 1000 m in the areas of Bocagrande, Isla de Tierra Bomba, and Playa Blanca, which were analyzed in the laboratory with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron transmission and scanning microscopies. Images obtained in the summer of 2020 and winter of 2021 by the Sentinel 3B OLCI satellite were selected at a distance of 1 km from each other and analyzed for the following variables: chlorophyll (CHL_NN), water turbidity (TSM_NN), and suspended pollution potential (ADG443_NN). In addition to of evaluating georeferenced maps, they were subjected to an analysis within the statistical and K-Means clustering model. The laboratory analysis of SSs showed the presence of potentially toxic NPs, responsible for contamination that may harm the health of the local population and marine ecosystems. The K-Means and satellite image analysis corroborated the laboratory analyses, revealing the source of the pollution and contamination of Cartagena Bay as the estuary located close to its center.

Keywords: NPs; sediment pollution; environmental contamination; remote sensing; tourist waters; sustainability management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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