Chemical and geological characteristics of sediment pore water along the western Mediterranean coast of Egypt

Sediment pore water is considered a basin source of pollutants to the water column, which can degrade water quality and harm aquatic life. The importance of studying pore water is to evaluate the human activity, through land use changes such as urbanization, that drastically affect pore water by polluting it with chemicals, altering its movement and quantity, and changing its chemistry, leading to issues such as salinization, contamination, and the accumulation of nutrients and other elements in the sediment pore water. This study compensates for the lack of data on interstitial water, despite its importance, by accounting for developments in human activities in the study area. Studying pore water’s pH, total alkalinity, and nutrient salts (PO 4 3− , SiO 3 − , NH 4 + , NO 2 − , and NO 3 − ) is our main goal in this study. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (NH 4 + , NO 3 − , and NO 2 − ) ions comprised 91.10%, 7.96%, and 1.0%, respctively. Results also show that P is the most limiting factor. The water content of the sediments was mostly a mixture of sand and silt. The organic carbon % in sediments was generally low. The Water Quality Index (25.35–51.19) shows mainly poor to moderate water quality. This paper shows an elevation in nutrient values, which can be due to agricultural and tourism development projects in this area, causing severe changes in land cover and enriching the environmental parameters. This nutrient evaluation needs to be a continuous study and monitoring to record any change as soon as it occurs. This research may contribute to the development of effective management strategies that enable decision-makers to make better choices.