Noakhali Science and Technology University

Department of Oceanography

Assignment Name:
Chemical Oceanography in Bay of Bengal

Group
“Meghna”
Course Code: OCN3209
Course Name: Oceanography of the Bay of Bengal

Submitted to
Md. Sohel Parvez
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Oceanography
Noakhali Science and Technology University

Submitted by

Bibhuti Chakma ASH1818037M

Nusrat Jahan BKH1818048F
Md. Saiful Islam ASH1818053M
Nahid Al Hasan ASH1818062M
Israt Mehejabin BKH1818067F
Samsun Naher BKH1718001F
 Chemical Oceanography of Bay of Bengal
Introduction
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest
by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between Sangaman Kanda, Sri Lanka and the north westernmost
point of Sumatra (Indonesia). It is the largest water region called a bay in the world. There are countries
dependent on the Bay of Bengal in South Asia and Southeast Asia. During the existence of British India, it
was named as the Bay of Bengal after the historic Bengal region. At the time, the Port of Kolkata served as
the gateway to the Crown rule in India. Cox's Bazar, the longest sea beach in the world and Sundarbans,
the largest mangrove forest and the natural habitat of the Bengal tiger, are located along the bay.
The Bay of Bengal occupies an area of 2,600,000 square kilometers (1,000,000 sq. mi). A number of large
rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal: the Ganges–Hooghly, the Padma, the Brahmaputra–Jamuna, the Barak–
Surma–Meghan, the Irrawaddy, the Godavari, the Mahanadi, the Brahmani, the Baitarani, the Krishna and
the Kaveri. Important ports include Chennai, Ennore, Chittagong, Colombo, Kolkata-
Haldia, Mongla, Paradip, Port Blair, Matarbari, Thoothukudi, Visakhapatnam and Dhamra. Among the
smaller ports are Gopalpur Port, Kakinada and Payra.
Oceanographic chemistry

Coastal regions bordering the Bay of Bengal are rich in minerals. Sri Lanka, Serendib, or Ratna –
Dweepa which means Gem Island. Amethyst, beryl, ruby, sapphire, topaz, and garnet are just some of
the gems of Sri Lanka. Garnet and other precious gems are also found in abundance in the Indian
states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Major elements
⮚ Sodium (Na) ⮚ Aluminum (Al)
⮚ Potassium (K) ⮚ Iron (Fe)
⮚ Calcium (Ca) ⮚ Titanium (Ti)
⮚ Magnesium (Mg)

Minor or trace element

⮚ Mn ⮚ Cu
⮚ Zn ⮚ Co
⮚ Ba ⮚ Ni
⮚ Sr

Dissolved Gases
Although all of the gases in Earth’s atmosphere dissolve in seawater, three of the most important are
oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen.
1) Oxygen: The greatest concentration of 3) Nitrogen: Nitrogen is the most abundant
dissolved oxygen is near the surface of dissolved gas in the oceans. Some types
the ocean. There, oxygen enters seawater of bacteria combine nitrogen with
directly from the atmosphere. There, oxygen to form nitrates. These nitrates
oxygen enters seawater directly from the are important nutrients for plants.
atmosphere. Below 200 m, the level of Nitrogen is also one of the important
dissolved oxygen drops rapidly. Here, building blocks of plant and animal
many animals use oxygen for respiration tissue.
and it is not replaced.
2) Carbon dioxide: A large quantity of
carbon dioxide is absorbed directly into
seawater from the atmosphere. Carbon
dioxide reacts with water molecules to
form a weak acid called carbonic acid.
Carbonic acid helps control the acidity of
the oceans.
Hydrological features of Bay of Bengal:-
 Hydrology of Bay of Bengal
A unique feature of the bay is the extreme variability of its physical properties. Temperature in the offshore
areas, however, is warm and markedly uniform at all seasons, decreasing somewhat toward the north.
Surface densities are considerably greater in spring than in fall, when river discharge is highest.
Surface salinity, normally measuring 33 to 34 parts per thousand, can fall to nearly half that level and can
extend well south of the bay during the fall. Below the surface layer is an oxygen-poor intermediate layer
that has high salinity and undergoes only weak circulation.
Weak upwelling occurs in the northeast during the northeast monsoon. The sea presents alternately slick
and ruffled surfaces over shallow internal waves all along the east-coast shelf. Surface movements of the
waters change direction with the season, the northeast monsoon giving them a clockwise circulation, the
southeast monsoon a counterclockwise circulation. Severe storms occur at the change of monsoon,
particularly to the south in October.
General
Hydrology of the coastal plains of Bangladesh presents a complicated interaction of fresh water flow from
the upstream, the tides and tidal flows from the Bay of Bengal Tropical Cyclones, storm surge and other
meteorological effect from the sea and the physiography of the coastal plains.
Projects concerned for these areas has to be planned and designed to utilize the available resources and to
stand again- st constraints. In a complicated area like this there can be a large number of alternatives for
development whereas some of hy- drologic elements may be constraints to some projects the others may
be advantageous. As an example salinity is a constraint for rice farming whereas it is a resource for shrimp
culture.
This chapter is therefore intended to provide a general picture of the Hydrologic elements in the area - data
from which may be used for general planning and selection of alternatives for further intensive study at
which stage further data collec- tion may be necessary for design of the project selected for implementation.
Hydrological Setting
Topography and Geology presents a general hydrologic environment of the area. Rainfall, tidal levels and
flows and salinity distribution are major hydrologic elements that will affect planning of any schemes for
the area. Rainfall is a resource for agricultural activity but along with dominant tide levels may be create
serious drainage problems. As such frequencies of both these elements have been provided.
Salinity has its variation round the season. With the on set of moonsoon the salinity profile recedes and
with the withdrawal of monsoon the salinity profile invades island.
Salinity intrusion at any point depend upon salinity at sea face, rate of diffusion of the intruded salinity and
the fresh water flow from upstream. In localised basin areas, rate of exchange of basin water with the river
flow may be create difference in salinity. In order to high light this situation experimental results for two
selected basins have also been included.
Hydrological Setting
The coastal plains of Bangladesh is subject to tidal inundation twice in a day by the semi-diurnal tide
originating from the Bay of Bengal. During low flow season the tide penetrates far inland. Plate-I shows
the tidal limit and current reversal limit for the lean season. Either whole or parts of the districts of Khulna,
Barisal, Patuakhali, Noakhali, Comilla, Sylhet and Chittagong are predominantly under the tidal influence
throughout the year. The major part of diurnal tidal inundation however occurs within the Gangetic delta
of Bangladesh. The area has been formed by sedimentary deposit in the recent geologic time by the Ganges-
Brahmaputra system.
The entire south-west area of Bangladesh to the right bank of Ganges-Padma is known as the Gengetic delta
and has been formed primarily by the alluvium carried by the Ganges. The existing north-south river system
somewhat parallel to each other are the remunants of major distributaries of the Ganges. Important of these
are:
Ichamati, Shibsha, Passur, Madhumati-Haringhata, Biskhali, Lohalia, Tentulia etc. These north-south rivers
are interconnected by smaller tidal creeks virtually forming a net work of rivers. Between these net work
there are large saucer shaped tidal basin that are flooded and drained twice in a day by the tide.
Chemical Composition of Seawater in Bay of Bengal:
Seawater is a complex mixture of water, salts and many other organic and inorganic substances.
 Seawater contains more dissolved ions.
 It contains 96.5 percent water, 2.5 percent salts. The chemical constituents of seawater include
major ions and minor trace elements.
 In addition, seawater contains the suspended solids, organic substances, and dissolved gases.
Major element:
The six most abundant ions of seawater are chloride (Cl−), sodium (Na+), sulfate (SO24−), magnesium
(Mg2+), calcium (Ca2+), and potassium (K+). By weight these ions make up about 99 percent of all sea
salts.
Minor elements:
Only 14 elements have concentration greater than 1 ppm (O, H, CI, Na, Mg, S, Ca, K, Br, C, Sr, B, Si, and
F). The remaining elements called minor element.
Many of these components are non-conservative. The ones which are involved in biological processes.
Others which vary because of chemical processes such as oxidation are also non-conservative.
Usually called trace constituent if it occurs in amounts < 1 ppm.
Major and minor trace element:
The concentrations of major and trace element in water. The major elements, Na(0.54–2.39 wt.%), K (1.03–
3.08 wt.%), Ca (0.74–29.37 wt.%), Mg(0.80–3.39 wt.%), Al (2.50–9.19 wt.%), Fe (1.84–6.54 wt.%), Ti
(0.16–0.57 wt.%) and Mn (0.03–1.09 wt.%).
The composition of trace metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cr and Pb) in the intertidal zone of ship breaking
area of the north east coast of the Bay of Bengal.
pH:
The recent study reveals that pH value in the Bay of Bengal on average is around 7.73.
Salinity:
Bay of Bengal, which is recognised as the largest Bay in the world, has a salinity of 31 ppt. Based on
discharge of river water, Bay of Bengal is drained by 77% of river streams.

 Nutrient Dynamics
Nutrients are subject to dynamic temporal variability, the main cause of the seasonal differences in nutrients
is variation in wind-driven upwelling. When the wind blows south along the coast, an offshore transport of
surface waters results.
Nutrient is functionally involved in the process of living organisms. Traditionally, in chemical
oceanography the term has been applied almost exclusively to silicate, phosphate and inorganic nitrogen.
The role of nutrients in the ocean is to support the ocean food chains. Phytoplanktons are primary food
producers in the sea and through photosynthesis, they produce food for zooplanktons which are then
consumed by organisms higher up in the food chain. Generally, nutrient is also present in sea water in very
small amounts, but only minute quantities of these are required by living organisms. Nutrient is essential
for phytoplankton growth as it is taken up by phytoplankton cells and built in as atoms in amino acids,
proteins, nucleic acids, fats, etc. Among the nutrient elements, silicate is essential for diatoms to build up
their skeletons which consist of biogenic silicate. When phytoplankton, zooplankton or higher organisms
are dead, these are decomposed by marine bacteria. This in turn takes a particle form of nutrient and in a
dissolved form so that phytoplankton can use it more easily.
Distribution of nutrients is useful for predicting the phytoplankton abundance and assemblages. Moreover,
it could also be used as indicator of the status of nutrient loading or to predict productivity.

Nitrite and Nitrate

The occurrence of a permanent thermocline and high primary production in the euphotic zone result in the
depletion of nutrients above the thermocline. Nitrate is generally present at very low levels, very often
below the detection limit, but some phosphate is always available in the euphotic zone, which indicates that
nitrate may be the limiting nutrient for primary production.
The vertical profiles of nutrients in the Bay of Bengal showed that the mixed layer depth (MLD) and
thermocline layer determined by temperature profile are identified with depths 0-50 m and 51-250 m,
respectively. The nitrite + nitrate concentration in the MLD layer ranged between undetectable to 21.31
µM .The higher concentration which nearly located the cold-core eddy area because of the influence of
cold-core eddy.
In the thermocline layer, the nitrite + nitrate concentration ranged between 9.82 and 35.70 µM. A strong
nitricline level which is noticed to increase rapidly with depth, however until below 250 m, it tended to be
constant.

Silicate
Silicate distribution is almost similar to that of the nitrite + nitrate. The concentration of silicate at the MLD
ranged between undetectable (N.D.) to 10.87 µM. Thus, the area was generally devoid of silicate except for
a noticeable high concentration which indicated that the nutrient must have originated from the river
discharge around the area.
In the thermocline layer, a strong nutricline which is noticed to have silicate concentration rapidly
increasing with depth, ranging from 2.98 to 38.70 µM. Silicate concentration at the sub-thermocline layer
ranged between 39.78 and 48.56 µM.
Phosphate
Phosphate values in the MLD were also low and gradually increasing with depth. The values were between
0.10-1.02 µM.
In the thermocline layer, a strong nutricline is also noticed to have phosphate concentration rapidly
increasing with depth, ranging from 0.58 to 2.85 µM. At the sub-thermocline layer, phosphate values
ranged between 2.09 to 3.13 µM, with the highest concentration of 3.13 µM.
Therefore, the distribution of the nutrients: nitrite + nitrate, silicate and phosphate uniformly increased with
depth. Generally, the MLD layer in the Bay of Bengal had very low nutrient concentrations or sometimes
even undetectable. In addition, there were near shore areas that had nutrient concentration higher than those
in the open sea. Nutricline concentration is noticed to be rapidly increasing with depth beyond 50 m. Until
about 200-250 m, the nutrient values are nearly constant or slightly changed. Finally, spatial distribution of
nutrient studies will certainly provide better scientific basis to understand the ecosystem of the Bay of
Bengal.
Aspect of Dissolve Oxygen Matter in BoB:
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is the fraction of organic carbon operationally defined as that which can
pass through a filter with a pore size typically between 0.22 and 0.7 micrometers. The fraction remaining
on the filter is called particulate organic carbon (POC).
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a closely related term often used interchangeably with DOC. While
DOC refers specifically to the mass of carbon in the dissolved organic material, DOM refers to the total
mass of the dissolved organic matter. So DOM also includes the mass of other elements present in the
organic material, such as nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen. DOC is a component of DOM and there is
typically about twice as much DOM as DOC. Many statements that can be made about DOC apply equally
to DOM, and vice versa.

DOC is abundant in marine and freshwater systems and is one of the greatest cycled reservoirs of organic
matter on Earth, accounting for the same amount of carbon as in the atmosphere and up to 20% of all
organic carbon. In general, organic carbon compounds are the result of decomposition processes from dead
organic matter including plants and animals. DOC can originate from within or outside any given body of
water. DOC originating from within the body of water is known as autochthonous DOC and typically comes
from aquatic plants or algae, while DOC originating outside the body of water is known as allochthonous
DOC and typically comes from soils or terrestrial plants. When water originates from land areas with a high
proportion of organic soils, these components can drain into rivers and lakes as DOC.

The marine DOC pool is important for the functioning of marine ecosystems because they are at the
interface between the chemical and the biological worlds. DOC fuels marine food webs, and is a major
component of the Earth’s carbon cycling.

Constancy of composition:
Salinity determinations from the world’s oceans have revealed an important, findings that although salinity
varies quite a bit because of differences in the total amount of dissolved salts, the relative proportions of
the major constituents are constant. In other words the ratio of any two major constituents dissolved in
seawater, such as Na+/K+ or Cl-/SO42-, is a fixed value, whether the salinity is 25, 30, 35%, or whatever.
To put it in more familiar terms, let’s imagine that the ratio of females to males in a populations is 1:4 (1
female for every 4 males) and that this ratio never changes regardless of population size. This means that
the total number of people in the population can vary but the relative proportion of females to males does
not change. In other words, the ratio of females to males is constant and is independent of population size.
Just so, the ratio of any two major salt constituents in ocean water is constant and is independent of salinity.
This is called constancy of composition. This important discovery, made during the Glomar challenger
expedition is termed the principle of constant proportion or constant composition, and was a major
breakthrough in determining salinity of sea water in a rapid, accurate, and economical manner. In theory,
all that need be done to quantify salinity is to measure the amount of only a single major ion dissolved in a
sample of sea water, because all the other major constituents occur in fixed amounts relative to that ion.
Chemists chose to measure Cl- for determining the salinity of sea water, because it is the most abundant
solute in sea water and its concentration is easily determined. Actually, elements in the halogen family,
which include chlorine, bromine, iodine, and fluorine, are difficult to distinguish analytically from one
another. Therefore, chemists determine, not merely the Cl- content, but the chlorinity, tha is, the total
quantity of halogens dissolved in water, expressed as g/kg (%).

Factors influencing the composition of seawater

1) Inorganic agencies affecting composition of sea water: Inflow of river water, freezing and
melting of sea ice, biological activity and exchange of substances with the atmosphere are the
factors which affect the composition of sea water. Along the shores, spray is swept up in to the air.
Through this spray the dissolved salts in the water are removed from the sea to the atmosphere.
E.g. the chloride in the water are carried away in to the atmosphere. It is evidenced by the
observation of chloride content in air near ocean in range between 0.07 and 0.5mg km of air. The
exchange of dissolved gases and nitrogen compounds also modify the quantity of these substance
in sea water.
2) Effects of Rivers on the composition of sea water: River water contains higher concentrations
of phosphate and nitrogen compounds and it draws in to the sea. River also drains the leached out
salts from the rock and higher carbon dioxide compounds are also added by the rivers in to the sea.
River water also adds ions like, CO3, So4, Cl-, NO3-, Ca++, and mg++, Na+, K+, and Sio2.
3) Effects of formation and melting of sea ice: River water contains higher concentrations of
phosphate and nitrogen compounds and it draws in to the sea. River also drains the leached out
salts from the rock and higher carbon dioxide compounds are also added by the rivers in to the sea.
River water also adds ions like, CO3, So4, Cl-, NO3-, Ca++, mg++, Na+, K+, and Sio2. The
formation of ice has pronounced effect upon the relative composition of the salts in the water.