Water and sediment quality assessment in the mid-Black Sea coast of Turkey using multivariate statistical techniques

The aim of this study was to investigate the water and sediment quality in the mid-Black Sea coast of Turkey. The samples were collected from six stations during 2007. Investigated parameters were total carbon (TC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), total organic carbon (TOC), ammonium-nitrogen (NH₄-N), nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N), nitrite-nitrogen (NO₂-N), total phosphorus (TP), sulphate, total hardness, methylene blue active substances (MBAS), phenol, adsorbable organic halogens (AOX), dissolved oxygen (DO), pH and electrical conductivity (EC) in water samples and TC, TIC, TOC, TP, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), redox potential (Eh) and water content (WC) in sediment samples. Different multivariate statistical techniques were used to evaluate variations in surface water and sediment quality. Principal component analysis helped in identifying the factors or sources responsible for water and sediment quality variations. Five factors were found responsible for 87.63% of the total variance in the surface waters. In sediments, three factors explained 84.73% of the observed total variance. Cluster analysis classified the monitoring sites into two groups based on similarities of water and sediment quality characteristics.