Assessing Complex Water Quality Conditions Relevant to Ballast Water Operations in the Port of Hamburg
(2026) In TVVR 5000 VVRM01 20261Division of Water Resources Engineering
- Abstract
- In estuarine ports, ballast water operations can be affected by short-term changes in water quality, especially when suspended sediment concentrations increase. This thesis assesses turbidity-related water-quality conditions relevant to ballast water operations in the Port of Hamburg, focusing on Seemannshöft during 2018–2024. Because direct total suspended solids (TSS) measurements were limited, a local turbidity–TSS relationship was developed and used to estimate daily TSS from the longer turbidity record.
The estimated TSS series was analysed for temporal and seasonal variability, high-TSS events, and relationships with environmental drivers, while Sentinel-2-derived Normalized Difference Turbidity Index (NDTI) was evaluated as... (More) - In estuarine ports, ballast water operations can be affected by short-term changes in water quality, especially when suspended sediment concentrations increase. This thesis assesses turbidity-related water-quality conditions relevant to ballast water operations in the Port of Hamburg, focusing on Seemannshöft during 2018–2024. Because direct total suspended solids (TSS) measurements were limited, a local turbidity–TSS relationship was developed and used to estimate daily TSS from the longer turbidity record.
The estimated TSS series was analysed for temporal and seasonal variability, high-TSS events, and relationships with environmental drivers, while Sentinel-2-derived Normalized Difference Turbidity Index (NDTI) was evaluated as complementary spatial information. Results showed generally moderate TSS-related conditions, interrupted by rare elevated events. Only 16 daily observations exceeded the 80 mg/L screening threshold, representing 0.71% of the record. Air temperature, wind speed, water level, upstream discharge, rainfall, and electrical conductivity explained only part of the variability. Supplementary prediction tests showed that short-term turbidity prediction improved mainly when recent turbidity observations were included, indicating strong temporal persistence in the Hamburg estuarine system.
Sentinel-2-derived NDTI provided useful complementary spatial information. A multi-year P95 hotspot-frequency analysis showed spatially heterogeneous elevated optical turbidity signals, although NDTI could not replace station-based TSS measurements. Overall, complex suspended-sediment conditions mainly occurred as short events, supporting local measurements, event-based screening, and operational awareness rather than reliance on average seasonal conditions or environmental variables alone. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Ships use ballast water to keep stable when they load and unload cargo. This water is usually taken from one port and later discharged in another place. Because ballast water can carry organisms, ships normally have to treat it before discharge. Treatment can become more difficult when the port water contains many particles or has high turbidity.
In this thesis, I studied water-quality conditions in the Port of Hamburg. I focused on turbidity and total suspended solids, which are indicators of particle-rich water. I used monitoring data from 2018–2024, together with environmental data and satellite images from Sentinel-2. The aim was not to test ballast water treatment systems directly, but to understand when and where particle-rich... (More) - Ships use ballast water to keep stable when they load and unload cargo. This water is usually taken from one port and later discharged in another place. Because ballast water can carry organisms, ships normally have to treat it before discharge. Treatment can become more difficult when the port water contains many particles or has high turbidity.
In this thesis, I studied water-quality conditions in the Port of Hamburg. I focused on turbidity and total suspended solids, which are indicators of particle-rich water. I used monitoring data from 2018–2024, together with environmental data and satellite images from Sentinel-2. The aim was not to test ballast water treatment systems directly, but to understand when and where particle-rich water conditions may occur.
The results showed that the water conditions were mostly moderate, but short periods with higher suspended sediment occurred. These events were rare, but they may still be important because particle-rich water can make filtration more demanding and may require more operational attention. Satellite data also helped show where optical turbidity signals occurred more often in the port area, although satellite data cannot replace local measurements.
Overall, the study shows that local monitoring is important in a dynamic port like Hamburg. Average water-quality conditions alone are not enough, because short events can still create more challenging particle-rich water conditions. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9238767
- author
- Khazaei, Monireh LU
- supervisor
-
- Jing Li LU
- organization
- alternative title
- Bedömning av komplexa vattenkvalitetsförhållanden med relevans för ballastvattenoperationer i Hamburgs hamn
- course
- VVRM01 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Ballast water management, water quality, total suspended solids, turbidity, Sentinel-2, NDTI, Port of Hamburg, estuarine sediment dynamics, remote sensing
- publication/series
- TVVR 5000
- report number
- TVVR 26/5007
- ISSN
- 1101-9824
- language
- English
- additional info
- Examiner: Magnus Larson
- id
- 9238767
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-16 09:12:16
- date last changed
- 2026-06-16 09:12:16
@misc{9238767,
abstract = {{In estuarine ports, ballast water operations can be affected by short-term changes in water quality, especially when suspended sediment concentrations increase. This thesis assesses turbidity-related water-quality conditions relevant to ballast water operations in the Port of Hamburg, focusing on Seemannshöft during 2018–2024. Because direct total suspended solids (TSS) measurements were limited, a local turbidity–TSS relationship was developed and used to estimate daily TSS from the longer turbidity record.
The estimated TSS series was analysed for temporal and seasonal variability, high-TSS events, and relationships with environmental drivers, while Sentinel-2-derived Normalized Difference Turbidity Index (NDTI) was evaluated as complementary spatial information. Results showed generally moderate TSS-related conditions, interrupted by rare elevated events. Only 16 daily observations exceeded the 80 mg/L screening threshold, representing 0.71% of the record. Air temperature, wind speed, water level, upstream discharge, rainfall, and electrical conductivity explained only part of the variability. Supplementary prediction tests showed that short-term turbidity prediction improved mainly when recent turbidity observations were included, indicating strong temporal persistence in the Hamburg estuarine system.
Sentinel-2-derived NDTI provided useful complementary spatial information. A multi-year P95 hotspot-frequency analysis showed spatially heterogeneous elevated optical turbidity signals, although NDTI could not replace station-based TSS measurements. Overall, complex suspended-sediment conditions mainly occurred as short events, supporting local measurements, event-based screening, and operational awareness rather than reliance on average seasonal conditions or environmental variables alone.}},
author = {{Khazaei, Monireh}},
issn = {{1101-9824}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{TVVR 5000}},
title = {{Assessing Complex Water Quality Conditions Relevant to Ballast Water Operations in the Port of Hamburg}},
year = {{2026}},
}