Environmental Unsustainability in Cartagena Bay (Colombia): A Sentinel-3B OLCI Satellite Data Analysis and Terrestrial Nanoparticle Quantification

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript can be accepted after minor revision. The XRD spectrums or results are not presented in the manuscript. Maybe one of representative results should be shown in the supportive information.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The English quality is OK.

Author Response

First of all, we wish to thank the reviewers for evaluating our manuscript. We have revised the manuscript according to the anonymous reviewers’ comments. The comments and their replies are shown below in two different colors. We hope you will consider our manuscript for publication in your esteemed journal. The manuscript is original; no part has been published before, nor is any part under consideration for publication in another journal. We convey our immense thanks for dedicating your time to this evaluation. Without a doubt, it helped to improve the quality of this manuscript. Thank you.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study was well written but could benefit from some methodology improvements. 

Add in Cartagena Bay surface area. 

Why didn't you include field collection of water samples that correlated with the imagery dates? This would have confirmed the quantities of the constituents. 

Figure 4 should better describe to the reader, what it depicts.

Figure 5 would benefit from corresponding water field samples. 

The conclusion of the paper needs to be strengthened, emphasizing what you contributed to the research community and the value added.

Also referring to the presence of Aluminum, Iron, Magnesium, and Sodium in the soil, these are some of the most common elements on earth, and are regularly found in soils, does this information as presented add value?  

Establish the relation between remote sensing and constituents in water before discussing nanoparticles in deposited sediments. 

Author Response

First of all, we wish to thank the reviewers for evaluating our manuscript. We have revised the manuscript according to the anonymous reviewers’ comments. The comments and their replies are shown below in two different colors. We hope you will consider our manuscript for publication in your esteemed journal. The manuscript is original; no part has been published before, nor is any part under consideration for publication in another journal. We convey our immense thanks for dedicating your time to this evaluation. Without a doubt, it helped to improve the quality of this manuscript. Thank you.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The sustainability of aquatic ecosystems and the reduction of damage from human and industrial activities are essential for the survival of all natural ecosystems, including future generations of people. Recently, water pollution with hazardous chemical compounds, including microplastics, has become a significant problem around the world. The absence of a sane government policy regarding such pollution, without a doubt, does not help in any way to solve this problem. The authors of the article focused their efforts on studying water pollution in Cartagena Bay (Colombia) based on the Sentinel-3b OLCI satellite data and quantification of terrestrial nanoparticles in bottom sediments via the X-ray Diffraction and electron microscopy. The Cartagena Bay water area was divided into clusters, and statistical analysis of samples was carried out using the K-Means clustering analysis. The authors identified 21 types of minerals in sediments polluting Bocagrande, Isla de Tierra Bomba, and Playa Blanca areas in Cartagena Bay. From the analysis of satellite images, the authors established the distribution of contaminated waters in Cartagena Bay. The results of the study are certainly important both from a scientific point of view and for the development of new public policies aimed at preserving the waters of Cartagena Bay in the future.

The manuscript material is within the scope of the Sustainability journal and will be of interest to the sustainability and environment communities. The manuscript has several shortcomings and may be published in the Journal after some improvements. Since navigation through the text of the article is difficult due to the lack of numbered lines, I have collected all my comments from the Title to the list of References in the highlighted version of the article, which is attached to this review.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Several minor comments can be found in the highlighted version of the article after the review.

Author Response

First of all, we wish to thank the reviewers for evaluating our manuscript. We have revised the manuscript according to the anonymous reviewers’ comments. The comments and their replies are shown below in two different colors. We hope you will consider our manuscript for publication in your esteemed journal. The manuscript is original; no part has been published before, nor is any part under consideration for publication in another journal. We convey our immense thanks for dedicating your time to this evaluation. Without a doubt, it helped to improve the quality of this manuscript. Thank you.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx