Evaluation of the Performance of the Image Processing Method in Estimating the Concentration of Surface Suspended Sediments in Coastal Zones

Measuring the concentration of sediments on beaches is of particular importance in line with the implementation of beach management plans. Coastal currents, especially those caused by breaking waves on the intermediate beaches, are considered one of the most important phenomena in the sediments transport and pollutant emissions in seas and coastal environments. In this research, first the complex pattern of these currents was implemented in beaches with an intermediate state in laboratory conditions. Then, using the governing empirical formulas, the concentration of sediments in each run was calculated under the sediment suspension mechanism due to the turbulent movement caused by broken waves. In the next step, using image processing principles in the Matlab software, the color characteristics of the images at different depths and hydrodynamic conditions were extracted to estimate the surface Suspended Sediment Concentration. The main results of this research show the high correlation of the color features of the images with the concentration of sediments in the area based on the algorithms presented in the RGB and Grayscale models. The accuracy of the results presented in different parts of the near shore zone indicates the fact that the accuracy of the model results decreases by moving towards the beach face and the best fit of the features of the images and the amount of sediment concentration is seen in the shoaling region.