International Journal of Development and Sustainability ISSN: 2186-8662 – www.isdsnet.com/ijds Volume 6 Number 11 (2017): Pages 1510-1525 ISDS Article ID: IJDS16041802 Use of In situ water quality parameters for pollution status assessment of Ibeno dark brown water marine environment, Niger delta, Nigeria Justin Ayaegbunem Akankali 1* , Sunday Dongesit Ambrose 2 , Christian Okechukwu Nweke 2 1 Department of Fisheries, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria 2 Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria Abstract Dark brown water zone of Ibeno marine environment was assessed for pollution status using highly sensitive, calibrated portable meters. The onsite-measured parameters were pH, DO, TDS, temperature, salinity and conductivity. The results obtained were compared with standards prescribed by WHO (2008) guidelines in order to determine the quality of the water/it’s pollution status. The area that constituted the sampling points of this study is the zone on the continental shelf up to a depth of around 20meters off the shorelines. In this area salinities are much lower at around 18 psu (practical salinity unit) in comparison to other contiguous zones. The Ibeno dark brown water zone is considered the most productive water body of the entire continental shelf of the area, exhibiting the highest chlorophyllous activity. In cases of significant or extreme pollution, the physico-chemical water quality parameters measured as in this study would have generally been at extremely high levels, but the reverse was the case, judging from the results of the study. Therefore, the results generally conformed to recommend global standards by WHO (2008). Therefore, it can reasonably be concluded from the results of this study, that though Ibeno marine environment is a dark brown water zone, pollution impacts on it’s water quality are not significant. Specific further studies such as heavy metal analysis in water, biota and sediments that will further profile the pollution status of the environment is recommended. Keywords: In Situ; Water Quality Parameters; Pollution Status; Dark-Brown Water Zone; Ibeno Marine Environment; Niger Delta; Nigeria * Corresponding author. E-mail address: justinoy3k@yahoo.com Published by ISDS LLC, Japan | Copyright © 2017 by the Author(s) | This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Cite this article as: Akankali, J.A., Ambrose, S.D. and Nweke, C.O. (2017), “Use of In situ water quality parameters for pollution status assessment of Ibeno dark brown water marine environment, Niger delta, Nigeria ”, International Journal of Development and Sustainability, Vol. 6 No. 11, pp. 1510-1525.