Changes in Nutrient Concentrations in Shenzhen Bay Detected Using Landsat Imagery between 1988 and 2020

Abstract

Shenzhen Bay (SZB), situated between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, is a typical bay system. The water quality of the bay is notably affected by domestic and industrial discharge. Rivers and various types of drainage outlets carry terrestrial pollutants into SZB, resulting in elevated concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous as well as relatively poor water quality. For over 200 years, Hong Kong has practiced oyster farming within brackish estuarine waters. Oyster farming is a type of mariculture which includes oyster breeding in oyster rafts. Remote sensing is a monitoring technique characterized by large spatial coverage, high traceability, and low cost, making it advantageous over conventional point-based and ship-borne monitoring methods. In this study, remote-sensing models were established using machine-learning algorithms to retrieve key water-quality factors (dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and orthophosphate-phosphorous (PO4_P) concentrations, CDIN and CPO4_P, respectively) from long-term time-series data acquired by the Landsat satellites. (1) Spatially, the water quality in Inner SZB was worse than that in Outer SZB. (2) The water quality temporarily deteriorated between the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century; then it gradually improved in the late 2000s. (3) Monitoring the water quality in an oyster-farming area revealed that oyster farming did not adversely affect the water quality. (4) The result of monitoring the water quality in river estuaries in SZB shows that water quality was mainly affected by river input.